Ernest and the Pale Moon
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Our first show, ERNEST AND THE PALE MOON, began life as a 20min showcase at Soho Theatre, created with the express aim of launching our careers after completing our post-graduate courses at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Emma approached friend Oliver Lansley about writing a piece inspired by the films of Alfred Hitchcock and the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Oli wrote an original story in response and we adapted it for the stage. The result was a bone-chilling piece of physical storytelling with three actors that was highly atmospheric and visually arresting. We felt it had a future life so Oli suggested developing it into a 60min show and taking it to the Edinburgh fringe with his company Les Enfants Terribles. In order to co-produce, we needed a company and so, Pins and Needles Productions was born.
We rehearsed ERNEST in a draughty Scout Hut in Surrey, devising round the clock with a company of 4 actor-musicians, a composer, designer and director. It was an intensely creative process despite having no money and no resources.
We previewed at the Ustinov Studio (Theatre Royal Bath) and Tobacco Factory Theatres before piling the set into a van and heading north. ERNEST AND THE PALE MOON played in Pleasance Courtyard all summer, in a very sweaty but brilliant studio space, and we were lucky enough to get great reviews, a Total Theatre award nomination, and audiences queuing down the hill. It was an unforgettable introduction to the fringe, and the catalyst we needed to get our company started.
A turning point for us was being commissioned by Tobacco Factory Theatres to produce a Christmas show for their space The Bewery Theatre. We approached the venue with an idea to adapt a well known fairy-tale for an Early Years audience, in order to compliment the family work they were already presenting, and to our delight they trusted us to create new show THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKERS.
It was a pretty all consuming project. We were not only the Director and Designer, but also the writers, producers, set builders, and even understudies!
"I remember getting a call from one of our two cast members on Christmas Eve, telling me that she was ill and would be unable to perform. Back then, the only option was for me to go on in her stead so, on Christmas Day, I learnt the lines, the songs, the puppetry and backstage tracks and by Boxing Day morning, I was in costume on stage for the first time. I did three days worth of shows and, though it was absurdly frightening, it was utterly exhilarating and I cherish those memories. I remember how kind the Tobacco Factory staff were, willing me on, and of the enormous reward I felt that we didn't have to turn audiences away." (Emma)
The run of our first ever seasonal show sold out and we ended up adding extra performances to meet demand. The response of our audiences - families coming together to have a shared experience in the festive season - had a profound effect on us, and we've been addicted to creating magic at Christmas ever since.
Having come to Bristol to watch THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKERS, one of the Producers from Lyric Hammersmith invited us to pitch for their Early Years Christmas show.
We considered numerous childhood favourites, but our heart was set on the idea of creating a stage adaptation of FATHER CHRISTMAS by Raymond Briggs. We couldn't believe it had never been done! The Lyric team were as excited as we were, and so an extensive R&D process began.
We worked with puppet designer Su Dacre, actor Jeff Rawle, composer Lucy Rivers and dramaturg Adam Peck to develop the show, and it culminated in a presentation involving reading sections of script, staging the first few scenes of the show, presenting a white card model box, realising key puppetry sequences, and listening to demo tracks. It was enough to secure Raymond Briggs' approval, and we got the green light to make the show.
By extraordinary coincidence, our rehearsal venue was on North Pole Road in London. We worked with actor Barry McCarthy, Puppeteer David Emmings, Musician Kate Adams, Puppet Designer Max Humphries and Lighting Designer George Ogilvie. We launched the show in the Lyric studio Christmas 2012 and, to our surprise a delight, it has played there every year since, becoming our most successful show to date.
In 2021, FATHER CHRISTMAS celebrates its 10th anniversary! Join us this Christmas at Lyric Hammersmith, for a very special performance of this much loved show.
Off the back of watching FATHER CHRISTMAS, Emma was invited to pitch ideas for a new Early Years Christmas show to Kenny Wax.
“I remember sitting in a pub in London with Zoe as we prepped for the pitching meeting. We’d worked up three show ideas but our clear favourite was MR POPPER’S PENGUINS. The story was about an ordinary person with extraordinary dreams and it had all the things we’re drawn to: heart, humour and theatricality. Figuring out how to present a married couple plus ten penguins on stage with a cast of only four was exactly the sort of staging challenge we love grappling with. Kenny’s team loved the pitch and we were off.” (Emma)
“One of the best thing about making the show, was that Kenny set us up with Composer Luke Bateman and Lyricist Richy Hughes. We didn’t know it at the time, but the collaboration with Luke and Richy would lead on to us co-writing OI FROG & FRIENDS! They’ve become some of our closest allies and the creative meetings we have with them dreaming up future project ideas are one of the best bits of running a company.” (Zoe)
MR POPPER’S PENGUINS opened at Brighton Theatre Royal in 2015 and did a small UK tour, ending at The Lowry in Salford for Christmas. The following year, the show transfered to New York’s New Victory Theatre, before heading back to London for a Christmas run in the West End.
“I’ll never forget seeing the New Victory Theatre for the first time. Zoe and I walked up Broadway, beyond excited to be in New York and soaking up the buzz of it all. And then we saw it, just off Time Square. There were huge billboards with penguins outside, and our show up in lights. This beautiful, grand theatre was going to be showing our work.” (Emma)
The relationship with Kenny Wax Family Entertainment has been instrumental in Pins and Needles’ growth. They’re brilliant to work with and we’re incredibly grateful to them for the belief they’ve shown in us.
In the same year we created MR POPPER’S PENGUINS, we also made THE BEAR. Making two new shows back to back isn’t normally something we’d advocate, but the opportunities were too good to pass up. This was our second Raymond Briggs’ book adaptation and we were lucky enough to partner with Polka Theatre and the Albany Theatre for its first outing. Again, the show had an impossible staging challenge - how do you put a giant polar bear on stage with a cast of only 3? This central question was the starting point for some R&D at Polka and we had an amazing time working with Puppet Designer Sam Wyer and Puppet Director Finn Caldwell trying out loads of different ideas.
“We did an industry sharing at the end of the R&D week. There were various venues present, but the person we really had to convince was Raymond Briggs’ agent. Would they like the puppet? Could our Bear really deliver all that action from the book? The having a bath? The pooing?!” (Zoe)
The answer was a resounding yes, and so we went into full production. In the end, not only did the puppet eat, play and generally make a mess, but it also had a little girl ride on its back!
“If we get it right, the bit when Tilly climbs aboard her Bear’s back, the music builds, and then they take off, galloping across arctic plains lit by a starry sky, is a real ‘wow moment’. That kind of surging together of all the theatrical elements to create an emotional punch is a real driver for us.” (Emma)
THE BEAR is one of our only self-produced shows. And when we say self-produced, we mean with a great deal of support during that origination year from Polka, The Albany and, crucially, Arts Council England. Since then, we’ve taken our beautiful Bear on the road far and wide. Even to Malaysia!