Northampton’s Royal stage will be transformed into the mythical world of Camelot and Arthurian legends for the world première of Ella Hickson’s Merlin.
Ella Hickson, who penned the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2013 Christmas show Wendy and Peter Pan, has come up with a “magical” new take on Merlin which involves three childhood friends embarking on an “action-packed” adventure.
For Prince Arthur, turning 16 means becoming a knight but he is torn between a duty to his country and to his friends. His young squire Merlin is struggling to keep his extraordinary magic powers under control and the gutsy Princess Gwen proves that she might just be the bravest of them all.
Featuring “extraordinary and hilarious characters, from petulant princesses to vile villains and talking trees”, the production combines “exquisite and laugh-out–loud storytelling with atmospheric new music in what promises to be an ideal Christmas treat for all the family”.
A co-production with Nuffield, Southampton, Merlin is directed by award-winning Liam Steel who was responsible for the musical staging and choreography in the film version of Les Miserables.
Heading a cast of actor-musicians is Will Merrick, best known as Alo Creevey in the E4 television series Skins who plays the young Merlin.
Merlin runs at Royal and Derngate from Wednesday 26 November until Sunday 4 January 2015.
The production marks the start of a new partnership between Royal and Derngate and the Nuffield. It involves their working together to commission and produce annual adaptations of children’s titles which will play at both theatres.
Merlin will play at Nuffield Southampton at Christmas 2015 while Nuffield’s 2014 Christmas show The Snow Queen, by award-winning comedy writer Georgia Pritchett, will be re-staged in Northampton in 2015.