Produced for Durham Book Festival by New Writing North in association with Sage Gateshead, a new production of the children’s story Man on the Moon by Simon Bartram, adapted by Zoe Cooper and directed by Ruth Johnson, is to tour the North from 26 September to 1 November 2015, aimed at the under-7s.
The story follows a day in the life of Bob, an ordinary man who happens to have the most extraordinary job of caretaker and tour guide on the moon. Bob is very orderly, sensible and likes to keep things tidy. He knows everything there is to know about the lunar landscape, and if there is one thing he’s sure about, it is that there is no such thing as aliens!
This production is part of a wider project, funded by the Art Council England’s Strategic Touring Fund, which aims to bring high quality literature and performing arts to those communities which currently have limited access to cultural provision.
It is the first production in a series of three which New Writing North will be producing and touring annually from October 2015 to October 2017. Each show will be an adaptation of a contemporary children’s book and will tour mainly to libraries and community centres across the north.
Funded by the Arts Council’s Strategic Touring Programme, the project aims to provide opportunities for people to experience high quality literature and performing arts in their local communities and to sustain arts activity in them.
The show will tour to local libraries and community centres across County Durham, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, as well as to community venues across the Greater North, in Manchester, Sheffield, Hull, Leeds and Wakefield.