Wise ChildrenOpening Date: March 5, 2019
Closing Date: March 16, 2019 (dates reflect York Theatre Royal run) Air date: April 4, 2020 Medium: cinema (UK only) Where to watch: Digital Theatre |
“What a joy it is to dance and sing.”
Stage Production Notes
Based on Angela Carter’s novel of the same name Wise Children tells the story of twins Dora and Nora Chance. It’s April 23rd, the day of the twins’ birth (also Shakespeare’s, and their father Melchior Hazard), and the pair reminisce about their fantastical life. Described as “A big, bawdy tangle of theatrical joy and heartbreak, Wise Children is a celebration of show business, family, forgiveness and hope. Expect show girls and Shakespeare, sex and scandal, music, mischief and mistaken identity.”
Two years after leaving the position of artistic director at The Globe in 2017, Emma Rice formed a new theatre company under the name of Wise Children. Rice had long sought to adapt Carter’s novel, and it was the first production of the new company.
Wise Children premiered at the Old Vic in London, and ran from October 18 - November 10, 2018.
The production received mostly positive reviews. While some critics felt the show was too long, and lagged in the second act, the cast majority praised Emma Rice’s original and inventive direction, and the outstanding performances of the ensemble cast. Several critics also noted the success use of out-of-the-box casting, the playful and whimsical set, and The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar summarized, “It is a spectacular show, distilling the carnivalesque spirit of the book yet managing to control its many unruly parts and surfeit of imagination.”
Wise Children commenced a tour of the UK in November 2018, wrapping up in April 2019. Actor Etta Murfitt, who played the role of Nora Chance, was unable to perform in the final leg of the tour at the Richmond Theatre and Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre, and director Emma Rice stepped in to play the role.
Based on Angela Carter’s novel of the same name Wise Children tells the story of twins Dora and Nora Chance. It’s April 23rd, the day of the twins’ birth (also Shakespeare’s, and their father Melchior Hazard), and the pair reminisce about their fantastical life. Described as “A big, bawdy tangle of theatrical joy and heartbreak, Wise Children is a celebration of show business, family, forgiveness and hope. Expect show girls and Shakespeare, sex and scandal, music, mischief and mistaken identity.”
Two years after leaving the position of artistic director at The Globe in 2017, Emma Rice formed a new theatre company under the name of Wise Children. Rice had long sought to adapt Carter’s novel, and it was the first production of the new company.
Wise Children premiered at the Old Vic in London, and ran from October 18 - November 10, 2018.
The production received mostly positive reviews. While some critics felt the show was too long, and lagged in the second act, the cast majority praised Emma Rice’s original and inventive direction, and the outstanding performances of the ensemble cast. Several critics also noted the success use of out-of-the-box casting, the playful and whimsical set, and The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar summarized, “It is a spectacular show, distilling the carnivalesque spirit of the book yet managing to control its many unruly parts and surfeit of imagination.”
Wise Children commenced a tour of the UK in November 2018, wrapping up in April 2019. Actor Etta Murfitt, who played the role of Nora Chance, was unable to perform in the final leg of the tour at the Richmond Theatre and Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre, and director Emma Rice stepped in to play the role.
Filmed Production Notes
The Space, a British organization that helps artists and arts organizations develop new work and to reach audiences online, commissioned Emma Rice’s new company to film Wise Children for the BBC. The production was filmed at the York Theatre Royal in March, 2019.
Wise Children was screened in more than 250 cinemas across the UK and Ireland, in October, 2019.
In early April 2020, Wise Children aired on BBC Four in the UK as part of the BBC’s “Culture in Quarantine” line-up. The program was also made on BBC iPlayer from April 9.
The Arts Desk reviewer Aleks Sierz noted that “While this film version gives a good impression of why Wise Children was a big hit on stage,… it can’t quite match the exuberance of live performance.” Sierz also noted that the film provides a “good, if overlong, record of some of Rice’s best work.”
Wise Children was available on BBC iPlayer (UK only) from April 9 - June 11, 2020.
In January 2024, Wise Children was released on Digital Theatre where it is currently available to view.
The Space, a British organization that helps artists and arts organizations develop new work and to reach audiences online, commissioned Emma Rice’s new company to film Wise Children for the BBC. The production was filmed at the York Theatre Royal in March, 2019.
Wise Children was screened in more than 250 cinemas across the UK and Ireland, in October, 2019.
In early April 2020, Wise Children aired on BBC Four in the UK as part of the BBC’s “Culture in Quarantine” line-up. The program was also made on BBC iPlayer from April 9.
The Arts Desk reviewer Aleks Sierz noted that “While this film version gives a good impression of why Wise Children was a big hit on stage,… it can’t quite match the exuberance of live performance.” Sierz also noted that the film provides a “good, if overlong, record of some of Rice’s best work.”
Wise Children was available on BBC iPlayer (UK only) from April 9 - June 11, 2020.
In January 2024, Wise Children was released on Digital Theatre where it is currently available to view.
Wise Children PRODUCTION CREDITS
Theatre: York Theatre Royal
Producer: Old Vic & Wise Children, Co-produced by the Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Oxford Playhouse & York Theatre Royal
Based on the Book by Angela Carter
Composer and Musical Director: Ian Ross
Adaption and Director: Emma Rice
Choreography: Etta Murfitt
Scenic and Costume Design: Vicki Mortimer
Lighting Design: Malcolm Rippeth
Sound and Video Design: Simon Baker
Animation: Beth Carter and Stuart Mitchell
Puppetry Design: Lyndie Wright
Puppetry Director: Sarah Wright
Fight Director: Rachel Bown-Williams & Ruth Cooper-Brown of RC-Annie
Cast:
Sam Archer (Young Peregrine), Ankur Bahl (Young Melchior), Omari Douglas (Showgirl Nora), Mirabelle Gremaud (Showgirl Dora), Paul Hunter (Melchior Hazard), Melissa James (Showgirl Dora), Bettrys Jones (Young Dora), Patrycja Kujawska (Wheelchair/Lady Atalanta/Blue Eyed Boy), Etta Murfitt (Nora Chance), Katy Owen (Grandma Chance), Mike Shepherd (Peregrine Hazard), Gareth Snook (Dora Chance), Stu Barker (Band), Alex Heane (Band)
Theatre: York Theatre Royal
Producer: Old Vic & Wise Children, Co-produced by the Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Oxford Playhouse & York Theatre Royal
Based on the Book by Angela Carter
Composer and Musical Director: Ian Ross
Adaption and Director: Emma Rice
Choreography: Etta Murfitt
Scenic and Costume Design: Vicki Mortimer
Lighting Design: Malcolm Rippeth
Sound and Video Design: Simon Baker
Animation: Beth Carter and Stuart Mitchell
Puppetry Design: Lyndie Wright
Puppetry Director: Sarah Wright
Fight Director: Rachel Bown-Williams & Ruth Cooper-Brown of RC-Annie
Cast:
Sam Archer (Young Peregrine), Ankur Bahl (Young Melchior), Omari Douglas (Showgirl Nora), Mirabelle Gremaud (Showgirl Dora), Paul Hunter (Melchior Hazard), Melissa James (Showgirl Dora), Bettrys Jones (Young Dora), Patrycja Kujawska (Wheelchair/Lady Atalanta/Blue Eyed Boy), Etta Murfitt (Nora Chance), Katy Owen (Grandma Chance), Mike Shepherd (Peregrine Hazard), Gareth Snook (Dora Chance), Stu Barker (Band), Alex Heane (Band)
Sources
Articles
Websites
- Arifa Akbar, “Wise Children review – Emma Rice's spectacular Angela Carter carnival,” The Guardian (Oct 19, 2018)
- BWW News Desk, “WISE CHILDREN Comes To BBC iPlayer Today,” Broadway World (April 9, 2020)
- Ben Dowell, “Angela Carter’s Wise Children brought to vibrant life as a wild and gender-fluid stage show,” Radio Times (Oct 19, 2018)
- Matthew Hemley, “Emma Rice's Wise Children to be screened in cinemas across the UK,” The Stage (May 14, 2019)
- Henry Hitchings, “Wise Children review: Emma Rice returns with racy, joyful oddity inspired by Angela Carter,” Evening Standard (Oct 19, 2018)
- Kate Kellaway, “Emma Rice: ‘I don’t know how I got to be so controversial,” The Guardian (July 1, 2018)
- Quentin Letts, “Bonkers but brilliant, a very English Rice pudding: QUENTIN LETTS reviews Wise Children at the Old Vic” Daily Mail (Oct 18, 2018)
- Andrzej Lukowski, “‘Wise Children’ review,” Timeout London (Oct 18, 2018)
- Francesca Peschier, “Review: Wise Children at Old Vic Theatre,” Exeunt Magazine (Oct 22, 2018)
- Emma Rice, “EYES WIDE OPEN,” The Old Vic (Sept 20, 2018)
- Aleks Sierz, “Wise Children, BBC online review – beautifully bizarre” The Arts Desk (April 14, 2020)
- Natasha Tripney, “Wise Children,” The Stage (Oct 19, 2018)
- Matt Trueman, “London Theater Review: ‘Wise Children’” Variety (Oct 22, 2018)
- Chris Wiegand, “Director Emma Rice to take over role in Wise Children,” The Guardian (Feb 4, 2019)
- Alex Wood, “Review: Wise Children (The Old Vic)” Whats On Stage (Oct 19, 2018)
Websites
- BBC Four, “Wise Children,” Accessed via: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0892kf6
- The Old Vic, “Wise Children,” Accessed via: https://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2018/wise-children
- Wise Children, “Productions: Wise Children,” Accessed via: https://www.wisechildren.co.uk/productions/wise-children
- Wise Children, “News,” Accessed via: https://www.wisechildren.co.uk/news/wise-children-on-the-big-screen
- Wise Children Cinema, “About the Event,” Accessed via: http://www.wisechildrencinema.com/synopsis/
Written by Luisa Lyons (April, 2020)