A group of young producers who are working with Walsall-based theatre company Little Earthquake to create a piece of theatre for family audiences have chosen the show which will be developed into a professional production.
After two months of discussing ideas, pupils at five Black Country primary schools have voted for their preferred show. It will be The Boy Who Became A Beetle.
Inspired by Kafka’s Metamorphosis, the show looks at the comic and complicated life of a boy who wakes up to find he has clacking pincers on his head, a huge shell on his back and six spindly legs with a mind of their own.
The young producer groups will now explore the story, structure, characters and style of the production with the writer, Little Earthquake’s co-director Philip Holyman.
Early in 2015, the young producers’ groups will help to appoint a set and props designer, a costume designer, a composer and four performers.
Holyman said, “the young producers’ creative imaginations are about to be fully unleashed. They will all be encouraged to think about what interests, moves and excites them—and what might engage audience members as well.”
The Boy Who Became A Beetle will be performed for the first time at a gala première at the Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton on Thursday 18 June 2015. It will then embark on a three-week tour to the young producer groups’ schools, studio theatres and community venues.
Further information is available at the Young Producers’ web site.