Oliver Ford Davies will star in a new stage adaptation of Michelle Magorian’s classic children’s novel Goodnight Mister Tom, which plays at the Rose theatre, Kingston in April as part of a UK tour.
The story, which tells of a young evacuee’s friendship with an elderly recluse, has been brought to the stage by David Wood, the children’s playwright renowned for his popular adaptations of Roald Dahl stories, including George’s Marvellous Medicine which is currently playing at the Bloomsbury theatre.
Goodnight Mister Tom follows eight-year-old William Beech who is evacuated to the English countryside during the Second World War, leaving his cruel mother behind in London. Though initially scared of his new surroundings, William forges a friendship with Tom Oakley, whose reclusive life is gradually pierced by the young newcomer. But then William is summoned back to London by his mother.
Ford Davies leads the cast as Tom. A veteran actor of stage and screen, his recent credits have included Hamlet alongside David Tennant for the Royal Shakespeare Company, All’s Well That Ends Well at the National Theatre and The Crucible at the Regent’s Park Open Air theatre. On screen he is probably best known for playing Sio in the three Star Wars prequels.
Goodnight Mister Tom is the first production by Children’s Touring Partnership, a new collaborative venture between independent producer Fiery Angel and Chichester Festival Theatre, where the show premieres in February. With the aid of a consortium of major regional theatres, the partnership aims to tour high quality work for children aged eight and older.
The production is directed by Chichester Festival Theatre Associate Director Angus Jackson (The Power Of Yes at the National Theatre). It plays at the Rose theatre, Kingston from 26 to 30 April.
CB