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The RSC is launching new musical ‘The Magician’s Elephant’ in Stratford-Upon-Avon after a year-long delay following the pandemic closures of 2020. The show’s run which is scheduled from October 2021 until the final performance on 1st January 2022 has already been well-received in initial reviews.
The story of The Magician’s Elephant is centred around the protagonist Peter Duchenne, a young orphan who lives with his guardian in the town of Baltese. With the tagline “Magic is always impossible. That’s what makes it magic“, the show takes the audience on a journey to another world, via an immersive experience with innovative production and puppetry that brings this fantasy novel to life. This brand new musical for all the family aims to “remind us all that even the impossible can be possible when we open our eyes and hearts to those around us.”
The Magician’s Elephant is adapted from Kate DiCamillo’s prize-winning novel, is directed by Sarah Tipple (Associate Director The Boy in the Dress) and designed by Colin Richmond (Wendy & Peter Pan).
“Peter Duchene is a young orphan who lives with his guardian, an old soldier called Vilna Lutz, in the town of Baltese.
Baltese is a place recovering from a recent war, where people are simply doing their best to get by, trying to put the losses of the past behind them. Peter lives a quiet, restricted life with Lutz, who is still haunted by memories of the battlefield, but then one day something extraordinary happens.
On his daily visit to market to buy bread and fish, Peter is amazed to see a red and white fortune-teller’s tent, right there in the market square. On the tent, hangs a sign which promises answers to the most profound and difficult questions. Peter has a question that troubles him. It is about a dream he keeps having in which he hears a baby crying. He steps inside.
Without Peter needing to ask, the fortune-teller guesses his question. It is a memory, not a dream, she says. Peter had a sister and she lives. Peter is stunned. How will he find her? The fortune-teller explains that he must follow the elephant. Peter is disappointed. That’s impossible. There are no elephants in Baltese. Or are there?
That same night, across town a magician is performing at the opera house. He tries to conjure a bouquet of lilies but instead conjures an elephant from the sky. It crashes through the roof of the opera house.
The appearance of the elephant sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that it changes Baltese forever. Suddenly Peter is catapulted into the quest of his life, overturning everything he ever thought he knew, and discovering that happiness can come from the most unexpected places.”
An impressive addition to this show’s run is that the RSC have gone to great lengths to make this show accessible and inclusive to audiences with differing needs and requirements. There are dates assigned to welcoming a range of people to their assisted performances that include captioned and audio described shows, along with ‘Touch Tours’ to enhance the audience experience. You can view full accessibility provisions on the RSC website.
Captioning converts the spoken word into text, which is displayed on an LED screen to the side of the stage. This enables you to read the dialogue as the actors speak the words.
These performances include a live commentary giving details of all the visual aspects of a production. The commentary is interspersed with the actors’ dialogue. Before the play begins you can hear an introduction to the production which gives details of the set, costumes and characters. The commentary is delivered via radio headsets, available from the cloakroom desk in the theatre foyer.
A Touch Tour offers the opportunity to get close to the set, costumes and props used in the play. Please book your place on a Touch Tour at the same time as booking your tickets for Audio Described performances. Touch Tours commence 2 hours 15 minutes before the performance.
Assisted performance times and dates are as follows:
Chilled Performance
Thursday 18th November, 1:15pm
Sunday 12th December, 2:00pm
Audio Described
Saturday 20th November, 1:15pm
Tuesday 30th November, 7:15pm
Signed
Friday 26th November, 7:15pm
Captioned
Saturday 27th November, 1:15pm
Wednesday 15th December, 7:15pm
Relaxed Performance
Thursday 9th December, 1:15pm
Socially Distanced Performance
Tuesday 2nd November, 7:15pm
Tickets for the production are on sale now, and the show is “recommended for ages six to 106”.
Links:
Accessibility At The Smith Center Series: Part One
James “Fitz” FitzSimmons Interview: The Boys In The Band On Netflix
Michelle is a musician and composer from the UK. She has performed across the UK and Europe and is passionate about arts education and opportunities for women and girls.
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