The Emperor and the Nightingale

“The story, adapted with his customary panache by Neil Duffield, remains loaded with all the essential elements of a child's fable. The importance of honesty, friendship, love, loyalty and trust. For two hours at least, we are taught that the song of the Nightingale might just be more essential than all of Earth's other treasures. Without turning all this delicate storytelling into anything resembling more seasonal fare, Joel Sams sails as close as he dares to being a panto villain. There is equally excellent support among the cast of eight actor musicians, whose skills stretch to playing an authentic Chinese stringed instrument, the guzheng.” British Theatre Guide, December 2016 “Set in ancient China, it tells the tale of Emperor Wu (Martin Sarreal) and2000-1 peasant girl Xiao (Sally Cheng) who head off together in search of the nightingale. Their adventure teaches them about the importance of friendship and all about life - the good bits and bad - full of energy, colour and creativity, intertwined with alluring music and lots of fun.” News & Star, December 2016 “Forrest's direction is typically tight, marshalling an eight-strong cast across a range of roles with a characteristic eye for humour. Johns' set impressively encompasses Beijing's Forbidden City as well as a range of rural location1000-1s. Composer Richard Atkinson supplies some beautifully atmospheric songs as well as directing a musically talented cast on a range of Chinese and western instruments. Jimmy Grimes' puppetry direction gives us a genuinely affecting nightingale, brought to life by the evocative vocals and puppetry skills of Amy Gardyne.” The Stage, December 2016