| The Magician's Elephant | |
| Music: | Marc Teitler |
| Basis: | The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo |
| Premiere Date: | 18 October 2021 |
| Premiere Location: | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon |
The Magician's Elephant is a musical with book and lyrics by Nancy Harris and music and lyrics by Marc Teitler, based on the 2009 children's novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo.
The musical was announced to make its world premiere as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's winter 2020 season, running in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the production was postponed to run over the 2021 winter season running from 18 October 2021 to 1 January 2022.[1]
The production is directed by Sarah Tipple, designed by Colin Richmond with lighting design by Oliver Fenwick.[2] [3]
On 9 July 2021, initial casting was announced and a recording of a song from the show "If This Is True" was released on YouTube, followed by another song "A Lot Like Me" released on 26 July 2021.[4]
| Narrator | Amy Booth-Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Duchene | Jack Wolfe | |
| Vilna Lutz | Mark Meadows | |
| Adele | Miriam Nyarko | |
| Leo Matienne | Marc Antolin | |
| Gloria Matienne | Melissa James | |
| Countess Quintet | Summer Strallen | |
| Count Quintet | Sam Harrison | |
| Madame LaVaughn | Renu Arora | |
| The Magician | Alastair Parker | |
| The Elephant | Zoe Halliday | |
| Wela Mbusi | ||
| Suzanne Nixon | ||
| Police Chief | Forbes Masson | |
| Milliner / Dance Teacher / Police Officer | Sharif Afifi | |
| Baker / Police Officer | Alison Arnopp | |
| Young Police Officer / Lamplighter | Chrystine Symone | |
| Sister Marie | Mandi Symonds | |
| Lisette | Lauren Jones | |
| Mrs Griswald | Wendy Somerville | |
| Fishmonger | Lucca Chadwick-Patel | |
| Doctor | Stephen John Davis | |
| Peter's Mum / Swing | Hannah Brown | |
| Peter's Dad / Swing | Michael Carolan | |
| Swing | Rianna Ash | |
| Swing | Matt Bateman |
The Stratford-upon-Avon production received positive reviews from the critics and audiences receiving mostly four star reviews.[5] [6] [7]