INTERVIEW: Expect some feel-good festive nonsense when James and the Giant Peach opens at the Bear Pit this weekend, says director Emily Myerscough
Following on from the runaway success of The Twits last year, the Bear Pit are putting on another rollicking Roald Dahl production, this time taking a bite out of James and the Giant Peach. Director Emily Myerscough tells Gill Sutherland about the festive family show.
It’s very exciting to have another Roald Dahl coming to the Bear Pit – how did you choose this one?
Show technician and producer Richard Ball grabbed me back stage at The Twits and went we should really do something next year. I ran away, and then it took me like three minute to change my mind.
We looked at Alice in Wonderland but then I thought Dahl was really successful, let’s see what rights are available. We couldn’t touch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory due to the touring production and obviously Matilda was a no go. We looked at some others and then I thought actually wouldn’t it be great to do a flying peach? I read the David Wood’s adaptation and thought yeah there’s no reason why we can’t do that – get a good team together, and have some fun. We put the idea to the Bear Pit and they were all for it.
You open on Saturday, how have rehearsals been going?
Really well, everyone has been off book for ages. We’ve got two James (Hal Sandle-Keynes and Jasper Hadley) and they’ve worked really well together. They both bring different elements to the character. The insects have been fantastic and everyone seems to be having fun. Everything is blocked so we’ve been able to run it for a long time now because it is such a short show – about one hour and 40 minutes, including a 20-minute interval.
I see that tickets have sold like hot cakes.
Last time we didn’t do enough matinees or early day time shows and then the first run of the Twits just sold out – same with Goodnight Mister Tom that I directed in xxxx. This time we’ve put in more daytime shows and those have sold really well. We’re spoilt people with children now – we need to convince some older children to come and watch it as well. I definitely think it’s for the grown-ups as well, there is some silly humour in there.
Roald Dahl is such an imaginative storyteller – what are the challenges of bringing that to the stage?
I guess the number of visual ideas. You go ‘OK I guess now there’s going to be a rhino – how do we tackle that?’ We need to make it daft but also a little bit realistic. Then we need to have a peach taking off. So thinking technically of what we have available in our space and the people we have available to make things happen. It has to be visually captivating for an audience. It’s finding a balance between these things which hopefully I think we have.
Tell me a bit about the cast. There’s some really delicious characters – including the baddie adults.
Oh it’s wonderful. We have the legendary Pamela Hickson playing Aunt Sponge. But Aunt Spiker is played by Dee Alder who is completely new to the Bear Pit. Dee is deputy headmistress of Warwick Prep School – we must be very chaotic by comparison!
So we have a first time Bear Pit actress and a veteran together and their chemistry is beautiful.
Old Green Grasshopper is played by Ricky Sandle-Keynes who is obviously a complete legend. He’s like my Brian Blessed he’s just loud and he’s like “as long as it’s all about me!”. The insets have all been incredible, and as soon as they’re had bits of costume come along it’s allowed them to develop how they move.
The two Jameses are the lovely children of Zoe (Mortimer, who plays Ladybird) and Richard and they’re just delightful. They’re so polite and good humoured and they take direction really well. They don’t have a lot of experience and you wouldn’t know.
Then we have some lovely girls who are new to the Bear Pit and they came from a social media post. Some of them have Playbox experience. One of them is Matilda in the Stratford High School show so she is doing ridiculous amount of rehearsals and then coming to us. You wouldn’t know because of the annoying energy of youth!
It’s wonderful everyone turns up with a smile and gets on with it. It’s actually one of my favourite companies we have put together.
There’s always a dark heart to Roald Dahl’s tales but they are also that very life affirming stories too – what makes it a great Christmas story?
I think because they are classics – it’s the good winning over the bad I think that’s what everyone needs for an uplifting Christmas story. Yes these people are bad and this boy has had a terrible start to his adolescence. But good people/insects and good environments and good things can happen to people who have been given bad luck and ultimately they can thrive and have a happy life and have friends. It’s a feel-good ending to such a rotten start.
How long have you been with the Bear Pit?
My first show was Hound of the Baskervilles [2014] and I was just doing backstage then – setting smoke alarms off by putting too much smoke on stage. Then I did the Vicar of Didley backstage and then directed Goodnight Mister Tom [2019] and then Twits. They haven’t managed to kick me out the door yet! I am doing the Railyway Children next year as well.
Are you from Stratford?
Yes I went school in Henley and Arden then Shottery, so I have lived in Stratford for many years. But we moved to Mickleton as I have a daughter, Beatrice who is eight.
She’s not in this show, but I think I will be in trouble if she’s not in the Railway Children. I’m not sure where she gets it from but she is very dramatic! I have brought her to some rehearsals and she’s just been wowed by the performers. I have been taking a lot of feedback from her face when she’s been watching it. She’s my target audience! And also, my harshest critic!
What’s your background in drama?
I’ve always loved drama. I did drama at university and had quite a lot of technical theatre background having worked in the corporate industry doing camera operating and lights and sounds. I run a small company in Stratford called Green Room and we do theatre workshops based on Shakespeare, stage combat, renaissance stuff. I teach at Princethorpe currently. Theatre is just good for my mental health. Flexing that creative muscle.
And you’ve also done the music for this show too…
Yes, I’m also a musician. I’ve written original songs for this as well. I thought Dahl’s rhymes and how we have interpreted them need music. It’s nerve-racking putting yourself out there directing and a bit of music as well but you’ve got to do it otherwise you don’t know. I’ve written the backing tracks for all the music behind the rhymes and also a song for the end to sum up the story. I did the same for The Twits actually. The end song is like a farewell to the audience and gives it that family Christmas vibe again. It’s printed in the programme if people want to sing along!
Let’s hope it becomes an earworm – that would be suitable!
Then if a huge touring company wants to buy it I would be all for it!
Final thought about what people will get from the show?
I hope people come along expecting to be slightly taken aback with an hour and a half’s sensory overload which will set people up for a good Christmas. A bit of feel-good nonsense!
James and the Giant Peach is on at the Bear Pit until 10th December. Tickets are selling fast, book now at www.thebearpit.org.uk.
