To celebrate our 50th summer season in Pembrokeshire, we're reviving one of the company's favourite plays for younger audiences.
The Land of Green Ginger is a funny, exciting story about friendship, enchantment and magic spells. It follows the adventures of Aladdin's son and heir, Abu Ali, as he embarks on a quest to find the mysterious Land of Green Ginger (which is never in the same place twice). On the way, he meets a button-nosed tortoise, two dastardly evil princes, more than one genie, and his one true love: Silver Bud, the jeweller's daughter. Swept along by Colin Baines' extraordinary music, this birthday production is jam-packed with unforgettable songs, vivid colours and magical illusions.
The play is based on the classic children's story The Tale of the Land of Green Ginger written by Noel Langley in 1937. Langley was one of the three writers who brought MGM's technicolor masterpiece, The Wizard of Oz, to the screen. His writing career took him from South Africa (where he grew up) via London's West End, all the way to Hollywood: he eventually settled in California for more than forty years. Langley is renowned for creating unique, vibrant characters whose dialogue is as endearingly funny as the situations they find themselves in. He uses words like an artist, painting brilliantly vivid images of surprising new worlds. And he was, in fact, an artist too: Langley created the beautiful illustrations for the original edition of The Land of Green Ginger, which inspired Joye Beckett's wonderful costumes for the Festival Arts version. (Later published editions of the story feature illustrations by Edward Ardizzone).
This production is one of seven original musical adaptations of popular children's stories written by Jenny & Colin Baines and Julie Beckett. This prolific writing trio have a gift for creating shows which bubble with energy, fun and chances for the audience to join in. Jenny and Colin have crafted a stylistically diverse array of new songs for these family productions, which always feature choral harmony singing and a talented live band. Meanwhile, Julie and Jenny's storytelling has developed a distinctive approach to theatre for young audiences, which lets the ensemble share their love of storytelling and illusion with children and adults alike.
Langley's magical tale is still in print for families to enjoy. Why not come prepared and read the book first? You can find a copy here or here and read more about Noel Langley here.