Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book stage adaptation opens at Little Angel Theatre

A first look has been revealed for the new stage adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book.

Little Angel Theatre’s production reunites adaptors Barb Jungr and Samantha Lane (who also directs) following their celebrated collaboration on the Olivier-nominated The Smartest Giant in Town, also written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.

Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book runs at Little Angel Theatre in London from 18 November 2023 – 4 February 2024 before a nationwide tour.

Charlie loves reading. Especially books about pirates. But his sister hates it – it’s boring! Can Charlie convince her that reading is fun? Perhaps if she read a book about a pirate, who is reading a book about Goldilocks, who is reading a book about a knight…

Come and delve into a range of books with Charlie Cook, brought to life with puppetry and enchanting songs, and perhaps you will be able to help his sister discover the wonderful world inside a book…

Julia Donaldson said: “I am delighted that Little Angel Theatre is adapting Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book for the stage. It is a book that celebrates the joy of reading in many forms – books, magazines and even encyclopedias. It is a book within a book within a book – in fact there are 11 books in total – complete with pirates, ghosts, dragons and aliens, to name a few. I am excited that the story will move from page to stage, complete with puppets and songs, and that the production will travel across the UK in 2024.”

Axel Scheffler added: “Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book is very different to the other stories by Julia that I have illustrated, as it is made up of many stories in one book. I enjoyed illustrating the different genres and creating the various characters, and it is great to see my illustrations now come to life on the stage. Little Angel Theatre’s clever production team has designed and created animal puppets that actually appear out of their individual books as their stories happen, which is such a brilliant idea. I am especially looking forward to seeing Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book come to life on stage and I know that all our readers, young and old, will enjoy this production in London and on tour.”

For more information, visit charliecookonstage.co.uk