It’s time for another adventure with award-winning theatre company Tall Stories.
Join Emily Brown and her rabbit, Stanley, on their quest to find the key ingredients to a good night’s sleep... What’s On spoke to Sophie Alice, who plays Emily, about hit production Emily Brown And The Thing, which is coming to the Midlands over Christmas...
Young Emily Brown and her best pal, toy rabbit Stanley, discover a Thing crying outside their bedroom window because he can’t get to sleep. Of course, they can’t help but go on an adventure to try and assist him...
Tall Stories’ version of the book, Emily Brown And The Thing, is a witty and heartwarming children’s show that sees Sophie Alice taking the lead role of Emily. “I’d worked with Tall Stories before,” says Sophie, “so when they asked me to do this show, I jumped at the chance. It’s a truly wonderful book. Emily Brown is a fantastic young female protagonist. She’s adventurous, she’s strong, she’s courageous. I thought it would be brilliant to be involved in a family show that has such a good female role at the heart of it. I just figured it would be such a rewarding role to play.”
The production is adapted from the book by Cressida Cowell, the author behind the famous How To Train Your Dragon series.
“The original cast worked with Cressida and the book’s illustrator, Neal Layton, to make sure the production was respectful and in keeping with the world of Emily Brown as seen in the original book. If you look at the pictures in the book and then come to see the show, there’s a striking resemblance between the characters, and we’ve tried to do that with the actual content also. Almost all the words from the book are in the stage version. Obviously, some of the characters have been extended, and we’ve got some original songs and music in there, just to add to the production element as a whole, but it’s been kept as authentic as possible.”
Emily Brown And The Thing features physical storytelling that uses not only actors but also puppets.
“What puppets allow you to do is include adventure elements on stage that actors just couldn’t perform in a realistic way - for example, climbing trees and skiing down slopes. It brings a really exciting dimension to the play for both the audience and us as performers. I think it’s very amusing to watch, too - particularly with Stanley, who, for a lot of the play, has been upscaled from cuddly toy to full-grown adult man in a rabbit costume, only to be shrunk back down to tiny puppet size.”
Sophie is thoroughly enjoying her time in the production: “I get to go on three different adventures, so what’s not to like? Really immersing myself in those worlds is just so exciting. We have so much fun playing our characters. It’s not put on at all; a lot of the emotion you see on stage isn’t even acting. We’re just having the best time, and it means a lot to us if the audience has as much fun watching the show as we do performing it.”
Tall Stories’ version of Emily Brown And The Thing has been met with widespread critical acclaim wherever it’s been presented.
“I wasn’t in the original cast, but I was in the second cast, which did a UK tour followed by the Sydney Opera House and Wisconsin. So there are a few nerves now I’m returning, but mainly the feeling is one of excitement. Yes, there’s always the pressure of reviewing well because Tall Stories are so well known, but as they’re so supportive, I tend not to notice that pressure too much. We really like to create great shows as a team, so overall I’d say it’s definitely more enjoyable than nerve-wracking.”
Sophie has some theories as to why, over their 21 years of performing, Tall Stories have been so successful.
“The company are very passionate about telling good stories to anyone and everyone - I think that’s the most important thing. They have an incredible team of creatives, directors and visual thinkers. They have such a passion for delivering beautiful messages on stage, and I think that’s at the core of what’s allowed Tall Stories to flourish.”
Currently, Sophie’s plans don’t extend beyond a future spent with Emily Brown and her friends.
“We’re taking the show to America and Canada after Christmas. That’s a five-month tour, so that takes me up to May next year. After that, who knows? All I know is that Emily Brown and myself have an amazing adventure ahead of us!”
Emily Brown And The Thing shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Monday 17 December to Sunday 6 January.
It’s time for another adventure with award-winning theatre company Tall Stories.
Join Emily Brown and her rabbit, Stanley, on their quest to find the key ingredients to a good night’s sleep... What’s On spoke to Sophie Alice, who plays Emily, about hit production Emily Brown And The Thing, which is coming to the Midlands over Christmas...
Young Emily Brown and her best pal, toy rabbit Stanley, discover a Thing crying outside their bedroom window because he can’t get to sleep. Of course, they can’t help but go on an adventure to try and assist him...
Tall Stories’ version of the book, Emily Brown And The Thing, is a witty and heartwarming children’s show that sees Sophie Alice taking the lead role of Emily. “I’d worked with Tall Stories before,” says Sophie, “so when they asked me to do this show, I jumped at the chance. It’s a truly wonderful book. Emily Brown is a fantastic young female protagonist. She’s adventurous, she’s strong, she’s courageous. I thought it would be brilliant to be involved in a family show that has such a good female role at the heart of it. I just figured it would be such a rewarding role to play.”
The production is adapted from the book by Cressida Cowell, the author behind the famous How To Train Your Dragon series.
“The original cast worked with Cressida and the book’s illustrator, Neal Layton, to make sure the production was respectful and in keeping with the world of Emily Brown as seen in the original book. If you look at the pictures in the book and then come to see the show, there’s a striking resemblance between the characters, and we’ve tried to do that with the actual content also. Almost all the words from the book are in the stage version. Obviously, some of the characters have been extended, and we’ve got some original songs and music in there, just to add to the production element as a whole, but it’s been kept as authentic as possible.”
Emily Brown And The Thing features physical storytelling that uses not only actors but also puppets.
“What puppets allow you to do is include adventure elements on stage that actors just couldn’t perform in a realistic way - for example, climbing trees and skiing down slopes. It brings a really exciting dimension to the play for both the audience and us as performers. I think it’s very amusing to watch, too - particularly with Stanley, who, for a lot of the play, has been upscaled from cuddly toy to full-grown adult man in a rabbit costume, only to be shrunk back down to tiny puppet size.”
Sophie is thoroughly enjoying her time in the production: “I get to go on three different adventures, so what’s not to like? Really immersing myself in those worlds is just so exciting. We have so much fun playing our characters. It’s not put on at all; a lot of the emotion you see on stage isn’t even acting. We’re just having the best time, and it means a lot to us if the audience has as much fun watching the show as we do performing it.”
Tall Stories’ version of Emily Brown And The Thing has been met with widespread critical acclaim wherever it’s been presented.
“I wasn’t in the original cast, but I was in the second cast, which did a UK tour followed by the Sydney Opera House and Wisconsin. So there are a few nerves now I’m returning, but mainly the feeling is one of excitement. Yes, there’s always the pressure of reviewing well because Tall Stories are so well known, but as they’re so supportive, I tend not to notice that pressure too much. We really like to create great shows as a team, so overall I’d say it’s definitely more enjoyable than nerve-wracking.”
Sophie has some theories as to why, over their 21 years of performing, Tall Stories have been so successful.
“The company are very passionate about telling good stories to anyone and everyone - I think that’s the most important thing. They have an incredible team of creatives, directors and visual thinkers. They have such a passion for delivering beautiful messages on stage, and I think that’s at the core of what’s allowed Tall Stories to flourish.”
Currently, Sophie’s plans don’t extend beyond a future spent with Emily Brown and her friends.
“We’re taking the show to America and Canada after Christmas. That’s a five-month tour, so that takes me up to May next year. After that, who knows? All I know is that Emily Brown and myself have an amazing adventure ahead of us!”
Emily Brown And The Thing shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from Monday 17 December to Sunday 6 January.