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The Butterfly Lion

Full-Length Play, Drama

Michael Morpurgo, Anna Ledwich

By Michael Morpurgo, adapted for the stage by Anna Ledwich

  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Literature)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences

Details

Summary

When Bertie is sent away from the African farm of his childhood to school in England, he leaves behind not only his beloved mother and the beautiful land, swarming with wildlife, but also his best friend – a white lion he rescued as a cub.

Bertie’s struggle to adjust to his new life in harsh, grey England is alleviated only by a chance friendship with the equally lonely Millie and his dreams of his treasured lion, now trapped in a French circus. But their remarkable journey is only just beginning, and the pair are destined to meet again.

The Butterfly Lion combines music, design and puppetry to bring a magical adventure to life: celebrating nature, friendship and the triumph of love.

Based on Michael Morpurgo’s best-selling novel, which won the Smarties Prize and the Writers’ Guild Award, this stage adaptation was commissioned by Chichester Festival Theatre and written by Chichester Festival Theatre’s Writer-in-Residence Anna Ledwich.

Cast Attributes
  • Additional Features Puppetry

Media

“Anna Ledwich’s adaptation is sleek, muscular and fleet-footed…” – The Times

The Butterfly Lion soars because it gives us theatre at its most poignant, the theatre of longing, of hopes and dreams and memories.” – Chichester Observer

“A show full of theatrical surprises.” – Sardines Magazine

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:

Authors

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo began writing stories in the early ’70s, in response to the children in his class at the primary school where he taught in Kent. One of the UK’s best-loved authors and storytellers, Michael was appointed Children’s Laureate in 2003. He has written ...

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Author

Anna Ledwich

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