A new production of The Three Musketeers will be staged by the Unicorn theatre this spring, in a season that also includes work by visiting companies Pilot theatre, Travelling Light, Trestle Unmasked and Oily Cart.
The Three Musketeers, which plays from 2 April to 8 May, is a new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s novel by Carl Miller, suitable for children aged 10 and older.
A swashbuckling tale of kings and queens, diamonds and swords, The Three Musketeers depicts a world in which the most dangerous player is a mysterious female with all the cards in her hand. Outsider D’Artagnan has nothing to show for himself but courage and an open heart, and will do anything to prove himself her equal.
The Three Musketeers is performed by the Unicorn ensemble and directed by Unicorn Associate Director Rosamunde Hutt, whose productions at the venue have included Twelfth Night, Journey To The River Sea and The Garbage King.
Prior to that, the Unicorn theatre welcomes three visiting companies. Pilot theatre (Looking For JJ, Lord Of The Flies) is to stage a new production of Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet from 2 to 12 February. Suitable for theatregoers aged 11 and older, the production brings a contemporary resonance to the age-old story of community differences, youthful rebellion and gang violence.
From 22 to 27 March, Trestle Unmasked presents The Birthday Of The Infanta, adapted from Oscar Wilde’s novel by Carl Miller. A bittersweet story of a princess who is only allowed to play with other children on her birthday, the story is performed in Trestle’s unique physical style.
March also sees the return of Theatre Centre’s popular production The Day The Waters Came (29 to 30 March), which played at the Unicorn theatre last year. Set in summer 2005, the story follows Maya Marsalis on the day Hurricane Katrina came to New Orleans, when the levees broke, the world watched and the US government did nothing.
Later in the season, the Unicorn caters for very young children with three productions suitable for ages three and older. M6 theatre company’s One Little Word (18 to 22 May) is a story of friendship and power struggles and, as the title suggests, only contains one spoken word; the acclaimed production Lost And Found (25 to 29 May), by Travelling Light and Polka theatre, tells Oliver Jeffers’s tale of a lost penguin who is trying to get home; and The Night Pirates (31 May to 12 June), a collaboration between Theatre Hullabaloo and the Egg, Bath, combines puppets, song and ballet-dancing pirates in a daring adventure across the high seas.
Especially for children with learning disabilities or an autistic spectrum disorder, renowned children’s theatre company Oily Cart returns to the Unicorn with Drum, a new multi-sensory adventure for the very young, from 19 April to 8 May.
The spring season ends with the return of Tin Soldier (15 to 25 June), which enjoyed a successful run at the Unicorn last autumn. Noel Greig’s tale, based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen, is a magical, musical, mysterious journey in which the Tin Soldier is chased by an evil goblin, threatened by a monstrous rat and swallowed by an enormous fish as he travels towards his appointment with destiny.
Though the second half of the year’s productions have not yet been announced, 2011 is due to end with a revival of Michael Morpurgo’s Billy The Kid, adapted and directed by outgoing Artistic Director Tony Graham, who steps down from his post at the end of the year. Graham has led the Unicorn theatre since 1997, overseeing the company’s move to its current London Bridge home in 2005.
Currently playing at the Unicorn is Beauty And The Beast, which ends its run on 23 January, to be followed by a Storytelling Season in February.
CB