Sir Michael Morpurgo's LITTLE MANFRED Premieres At Polka Theatre

Polka Theatre and Soldiers' Arts Academy announced an extra special moment which will mark the world premiere performance of the Little Manfred stage play.

The book's author, Sir Michael Morpurgo OBE along with his longtime collaborator, the illustrator and author Michael Foreman OBE, will attend the performance and afterwards take part in a Q&A session chaired by Polka's Artistic Director Peter Glanville, which will touch on their work together as well as the real life story behind the tale portrayed on stage.

Also today we are delighted to announce that an impressive cast and crew of army veterans, family members and creatives with links to the military, are currently in the throes of rehearsals and preparations for the forthcoming run of the War Horse creator's 2011 children's novel.

Soldiers' Arts Academy's Creative Director Amanda Faber, who along with the play's Director Damian Cruden has adapted the book for stage, announces the cast - all of whom will assume several roles - both in person and as puppeteers - in this wonderful and inspirational family drama.

The attached images feature three of the actors who star along with puppet co-stars. They are Tip Cullen, Adam Wittek and Charlotte Green (complete biogs are printed in full at the end of this press release).

Former Royal Marine Commando Tip Cullen served in uniform for more than 30 years before making the decision to train as an actor, because of his passion for storytelling. During his university career where he achieved a BA in Acting, Tip performed in various Hollywood films including Ready Player One and Kingsman 2.

Adam Wittek is a Polish-born, German-British actor and physical performer who trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London and with the Travel Art Dance Company, Melbourne. He is a regular stage performer and is also known to TV audiences having appeared in two seasons of Peter Bowker's BBC One hit, The A Word amongst others.

Charlotte Green trained at Guildford School of Acting and since graduating has performed at The Globe, Greenwich Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe Festival and across Europe. Charlotte has performed previously with Soldier's Arts Academy in Soldier On (2018) and Army Girl (2021). As the daughter of a veteran, Charlotte is excited to be working with Soldiers Arts Academy again.

Amanda Faber who is founder and Creative Director of The Soldiers' Arts Academy says: "We are delighted to have found a wonderful cast and crew who are already taking huge strides towards bringing Michael's charming story of war and resolution to life. Each brings with them their own very personal reasons for wanting to be a part of the play which means everything is feeling perfectly blended. We can't wait for audiences to see Little Manfred on stage at Polka. Even more special is the fact that we will be joined by the esteemed Morpurgo and Foreman who will no doubt share many wonderful anecdotes about working together and their memories of bringing Little Manfred to the printed page. Without them we wouldn't be here at the wonderful Polka Theatre".

Soldiers' Arts Academy was founded to enable all who participate to recover, to train in the arts and to transition into work either in the Performing Arts or beyond.

TIP CULLEN Tip is a former Royal Marine, having served nearly thirty years before leaving to train as an actor with The Actors' Wheel Company (Plymouth Marjon University), where he achieved a BA (Hons). During university, Tip performed as an extra in various Hollywood films including Ready Player One and Kingsman 2. His first acting role was with the Royal British Legions' production of Boots at The Door, Theatre Royal Plymouth (2015), followed by touring with Bravo 22 Company's Unspoken (2017/18) and the Soldiers' Arts Academy and Shakespeare's Globe production of Shakespeare and Remembrance (2018).

ADAM WITTEK Adam is a Polish-born, German-British actor and physical performer who trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London and with Travel Art Dance Company, Melbourne. Selected stage credits: Terror (Trinity Theatre); In the Beginning Was the End (Dreamthinkspeak/National Theatre); The Sting (Arcola Theatre, Southwark Playhouse); Time of My Life (Chiswick Playhouse); Moonshine (Mercury Theatre); Rageboy (Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne); Black Eyed Susan (Arts Centre Melbourne). Selected screen credits: The A Word (BBC, 2 seasons); FBI: International (CBS); Shakespeare & Hathaway (BBC); Pound for Pound (NBCUniversal, pilot); Doctors (BBC); In Another Life (Jason Wingard, BIFA and Raindance winner).

Charlotte Green Charlotte trained at Guildford School of Acting and since graduating has performed at The Globe, Greenwich Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe Festival and across Europe. Charlotte has performed previously with Soldier's Arts Academy in Soldier On (2018) and Army Girl (2021). Charlotte is the co-founder of Home Truths theatre company. The most recent play she wrote, produced and acted in for Home Truths was Lest We Forget (2019), a World War One drama about a black British soldier who falls in love with a white woman. As the daughter of a veteran, Charlotte is excited to be working with Soldiers Arts Academy again.

Performances:
Sat 22 - Sun 30 Oct

11.00 am and 2.30 pm

Duration
Approx. 1 hr 40 mins (including interval)

Access Performances
Relaxed: Tue 25 Oct 11am

Ticket Prices
Adults & Children from £10
Concessions from £10 (65+ and those in receipt of unemployment benefit)
Babe in arms: £1 (children under 12 months)
Family ticket discount available

Access tickets can be booked over the phone or via email for all performances. If you want to find out more or inform us of any particular needs, then just get in touch. 020 8543 4888 | boxoffice@polkatheatre.com

*£1.50 transaction fee applies to phone and online bookings. Delivery fees may apply.

Age Suggestion - 7-12 years
Polka Theatre creates a range of productions to be enjoyed by children from 0-12 years. Whilst all children may attend our productions, we feel that this story is best suited to the suggested audience. This may be due to the themes or presentation style. We encourage you to consider this when booking tickets.

Creative Team
Based on the book by Michael Morpurgo
Adapted by Damian Cruden & Amanda Faber
Directed by Damian Cruden
Puppetry by Marc Parrett

Polka is one of just a handful of dedicated children's venues in the UK. Presenting a year-round programme of new work made at Polka, visiting shows, and Creative Learning activities for 0-12-year-olds, we continue to pioneer developments in children's theatre, nurture artistic talent in the sector, and maintain an international reputation while serving local communities. We involve children at every stage of the creative process and lead the way in Early Years theatre for under 6s supported by our academic collaborators and the EU-funded small size network. Creative Learning is central to our mission - our shows are supported by tailored community and schools initiatives that benefit 18,000+ largely disadvantaged and disabled children each year.

Twitter @polkatheatre

Alice James 07944 539508 / alice.james@katemorleypr.com

Iain McCallum 07771636612 / 011162im@gmail.com