The World Premiere of the glorious patchwork elephant comes to the stage in the much anticipated theatrical extravaganza, The Elmer Adventure.
The multi Olivier Award-nominated Tall Stories (The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo’s Child, Room on the Broom, The Smeds and The Smoos) will celebrate Elmer’s 35th anniversary year with magical songs, brilliant storytelling and spellbinding puppetry, creating a colourful jungle on stage - perfect for a patchwork elephant to hide in. In the ultimate fun test for families this half term, we’ll see if audiences are able to spot Elmer in London and Manchester.
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| Amelia Gabriel |
The cast who take on the grand adventure of bringing the iconic character to life on stage include the amazing Amelia Gabriel (The Grapes of Wrath, National Theatre; The Lord of the Rings, Watermill Theatre), the fantastic Frankie Turton (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, National Tour; The Three Wise Women, She Productions), and the brilliant Jack Benjamin (To Kill AMockingbird, West End; Josephine, Theatre Royal, Bath) will play the three adventurers on a mission to find the beloved elephant.
We caught up with Amelia Gabriel during rehearsals to learn more about the show.
What can you tell me about the piece?
The Elmer Adventure follows three friends who have journeyed to the jungle in search of their childhood hero: Elmer the patchwork elephant. Through the show, they share their favourite Elmer stories, using a mix music, and puppetry, and hope they might spot Elmer himself before the night is over…
What can you tell me about your role?
I am one of three cast members in the show. Between us, we are playing a joyful jumble of jungle animals (elephants, lions, tigers, crocodiles, monkeys), singing songs, playing instruments, and puppeteering.
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| Amelia Gabriel, Frankie Turton and Jack Benjamin in rehearsals. |
I’ve been watching a lot of videos of elephants to try and perfect my elephant trumpet noise (and probably making my neighbours very confused by all the practice)! A lot of the show has been devised and created in the room with the cast and creative team through rehearsals, so it’s been very exciting to discover the characters and answer key questions such as ‘what would a singing hippo sound like?!’
What is the biggest challenge when bringing to life a beloved character?
Well, elephants are famously not the smallest and lightest of animals (!) so working out how to get a big multicoloured elephant on stage has been no small feat! Fortunately, the amazing Yvonne Stone has designed an incredible puppet for our patchwork protagonist, and we can’t wait for audiences to meet him.
Why do you think Elmer has endured to its 35th anniversary?
Because the books are beautiful! There are more than 40 Elmer stories and their messages about acceptance and the importance of being yourself are ever relevant. The tales range from funny and silly to heartwarming and moving and are illustrated by David McKee himself with the most colourful, detailed, charming jungle-scapes that I can remember so vividly from when I read them with my parents as a child over 20 years ago!
What keeps you inspired?
Seeing audiences, especially young audiences, being surprised, entertained, moved, enthralled by storytelling! I think stories and theatre help children to unlock the imaginative fire, creativity, and empathy we all need to understand, face, and change the world. It’s a joy to be a small part of that process.
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| Amelia Gabriel, Frankie Turton and Jack Benjamin in rehearsals. |
What do you hope an audience member takes away from seeing the show?
There are lots of beautiful messages at the heart of the Elmer stories about the importance of being yourself, celebrating difference, working together, and finding play and silliness in the everyday that shine through. Alongside these, I hope audiences of all ages come away having had a mega fun, silly adventure packed with jungle joy!
Where can audiences see the show?
We will be at The Lowry in Salford 22nd-26th October, and at The Southbank Centre, London 30th October - 3rd November!
You can find tickets and more information about the show by visiting https://tallstories.org.uk/the-elmer-adventure/
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