Little Angel Theatre Streams Ian Nicholson's Performance Of I WANT MY HAT BACK

Little Angel Theatre has partnered with theatre director IAN NICHOLSON to stream an adaptation of JON KLASSEN's picture book I Want My Hat Back. The performance will be broadcast on Little Angel Theatre's YouTube channel on Easter Monday, 13 April at 11am BST. Nicholson will be directing and performing the show from home during lockdown, with set designed by Samuel Wilde and music by Jim Whitcher.

I Want My Hat Back is the first in a trilogy of books by Canadian author and illustrator Jon Klassen. The mischievous tale follows a bear who's hat is gone, and he wants it back. Patiently and politely, he asks the

animals he comes across, one by one, if they have seen it. The book was a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2011, and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway medal when it was published in the UK in 2013.

The show has been created remotely, with Nicholson, Wilde and Whitcher communica6ng across Zoom and WhatsApp over 200 miles apart to discuss storyboarding, prototypes for the puppets and music. The finished set was then posted by Wilde to Nicholson's home, from where he will perform the show. After bringing his show Phoenix and Turtle to Little Angel Theatre in 2018, Nicholson approached Little Angel Theatre's Artistic Director Samantha Lane about streaming the show via Little Angel's YouTube channel. The performance will be broadcast on 13 April at 11am BST, and will be made available to watch for 14 days afterwards. It will be free to access and is aimed at children aged 3-6.

Director Ian Nicholson said: "This virus has thrown the theatre-making world upside-down with work being cancelled, projects suddenly stopped. So the question for me as an artist became: 'what do I do now I'm stuck in the house?' So I called my friend, designer Sam Wilde, to bewail our situation and we decided to make a show together. Like so many families, Sam found himself spending a huge amount of time at home with his two young children so he was keen to make something that they could watch as well. Samantha has been incredibly supportive of us making this show together and finding a way for it to reach audiences, all without meeting in person or stepping a foot inside the theatre - a new world entirely."

Little Angel Theatre's Artistic Director, Samantha Lane, said: 'I am delighted that Ian chose to approach us to stream this performance. We are keen to support artists during what is an extremely challenging 6me for our industry. With our buildings closed, we want to find ways for families to experience the joy of theatre and puppetry from their own homes. I hope that by streaming this performance we are able to provide a moment of relief and entertainment for families cooped up at home over the long weekend and beyond."

With thanks to Jon Klassen for granting his permission to adapt this work.

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