A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

Waiting for Anya

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  2w, 6m

By Michael Morpurgo
Adapted by Simon Reade

Simon Reade’s stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s war story celebrates the triumph of a spirited French community who stubbornly resist their invading aggressor by smuggling refugee Jewish children across the border into Spain.

Waiting for Anya

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 6m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Literature), Docudrama/History
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences

Details

Summary

The foothills of the French Pyrenees during the Second World War. Jo Lalande’s village is occupied by German soldiers guarding the frontier to neutral Spain. While he is tending his family’s flock of sheep (his father is absent, a prisoner of war), Jo follows a bear cub into the woods, where he spies a stranger. Following him to a remote hill-farm belonging to the reclusive widow, Madame Horcada, Jo learns their dangerous secret: together they smuggle Jewish children, refugees from the war and the Holocaust, escaping over the border and into Spain. All the while, hoping against hope, they wait for their lost daughter and granddaughter, Anya. Sworn to secrecy, Jo risks everything – until the very German soldier he has befriended looks set to betray him.

Michael Morpurgo’s war story celebrates the triumph of a spirited community who stubbornly resist their invading aggressor. This new adaptation marks his tenth collaboration with Simon Reade over the past 20 years, after The Mozart Question (Bristol Old Vic); Toro! Toro! (Salisbury Playhouse); Twist of Gold (Polka); On Angel Wings (NoMasters); the critically acclaimed An Elephant in the Garden (Poonamallee Productions); the Private Peaceful film (Goldcrest) and other stage plays (West End/Off-Broadway/Dublin/world tours).

Waiting for Anya was commissioned by the Barn Theatre, Cirencester and received its world premiere in March 2023.

History
Waiting For Anya was first performed at the Barn Theatre, Cirencester on 30 March 2023.
Performing Groups

The Village of Lescun
JO LALANDE – teenage
GRANDPA, HENRI LALANDE – 60s (pronounced O[n]-ree)
MAMA, LISE LALANDE – 30s (pronounced Leez)
PAPA, PIERRE LALANDE – 30s
FATHER LASALLE – the village priest and church organist

The Mountains
SOLOMON HOROVITZ – 30s
WIDOW HORCADA, ALICE – 60s (pronounced A-leece)
LÉAH – the same age as Jo (pronounced Lay-ah)
ANYA – the same age as Jo (pronounced An-yah)

The Germans
LIEUTENANT WEISSMANN (pronounced Vice-mann)
CORPORAL, WILHELM – 50s (pronounced Vill-helm)
SOLDIER

The play can be performed by at least as many performers as there are characters – or a virtue can be made a of a tight-knit, multi-role-playing ensemble of around eight. NB Jo is on stage pretty much throughout.

VILLAGERS, SOLDIERS, CHILDREN, ANIMALS, etc., can be played by everyone.

  • Time Period 1940s/WWII
  • Setting The foothills of the Pyrenees in Nazi-occupied France. WWII.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

“Inventive, atmospheric… respectful and imaginative.” – The Stage

“[It] does a whole lot with a little.” – Swindon Advertiser

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Michael Morpurgo

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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Simon Reade

Simon Reade
Simon Reade has adapted Private Peaceful as an internationally touring award-winning one-man show, for schools and youth theatres, for BBC Radio 4, and as a feature film starring George Mackay and Jack O’Connell. His other Morpurgo adaptations include An Elephant in the Garde ...
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