Disney's
Winnie The Pooh
coming to the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea
on FRI 25 - SUN 27 AUG 2023
Winnie The Pooh
coming to the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea
on FRI 25 - SUN 27 AUG 2023
When Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation opened in New York in 2021, it broke box office records for the biggest-ever advance sales at the Theatre Row Building and was met with rave reviews - with Time Out calling the show “Enchanting!” and BroadwayWorld hailing it as “magical, sweet as honey and full of humour”. The following year, the musical played to packed houses in Chicago, returned to New York for a limited season and embarked on a US tour that began in Texas.
Now bringing it over here for a UK & Ireland tour after a run at London’s Riverside Studios, creator and director Jonathan Rockefeller promises: “It’s everything you know and love about Winnie the Pooh.” Avoiding spoilers about the staging, the acclaimed family entertainment creator says: “You’ll really feel part of the Hundred Acre Wood from the moment you walk into the theatre. There’ll be characters and vignettes you’re familiar with - but in a new adventure.”
Presented by Jonathan’s Rockefeller Productions in partnership with ROYO and Disney Theatrical Productions, the show includes such songs as Winnie the Pooh, A Rather Blustery Day and The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers, which were written by multiple Grammy Awards winners Robert and Richard Sherman for various animated featurettes and anthologies. It also has some songs by author A.A. Milne and an original score by Nate Edmondson, a longtime collaborator of Rockefeller.
In a brand new story inspired by the books and screen stories, Pooh meets his best friend Christopher Robin every day for honey after breakfast. But then one day, Christopher isn’t there and Pooh has to fend for himself and find some honey. Along the way, he encounters the likes of Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga, Roo and Tigger too.
Created by a team of artists, designers, patternmakers, builders, welders and fabricators, the characters are rendered as life-sized puppets that the actor-puppeteers operate themselves. “The puppets are so tactile” Jonathan says. “They’re like giant articulated plush toys. The puppeteers in some ways are like Christopher Robin in that they play with the characters and make these stuffed animals come to life.”
The creator and director adds: “What’s wonderful is that we’ve been able to take A.A. Milne’s brilliant stories, Disney’s great animated featurettes and fantastic songs, and mix it all up into a new show. So even if you are incredibly familiar with all those aspects, it’s all in a completely new context. We’re paying respect to the author, the animators and the Sherman Brothers songs but putting our own spin on it.”
London-born Milne first chronicled the adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin (named after his son Christopher Robin Milne) in book form in 1926. He came up with the fictional Hundred Acre Wood in homage to Five Hundred Acre Wood in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, where he would often take his son for walks.
The naive, friendly, thoughtful bear and his colourful friends featured in the books Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner as well as in Milne’s poetry collections When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six. Illustrated by E. H. Shepard, they went on to sell 50 million copies.
Disney acquired the theatrical rights to the stories in 1961, producing three featurettes which were eventually incorporated into the 1977 full-length film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Disney’s Winnie the Pooh has since become one of the best-loved and most successful franchises in entertainment history.
Now, Jonathan has embraced the challenge of re-imagining Winnie the Pooh for theatregoers, saying: “I first saw the cartoons before I was able to read, then as I grew older, I really enjoyed reading the stories. To this day, they remain some of the best pieces of literature and the Disney animations are wonderful, so it’s been a challenge and an honour to bring these characters to the stage. I’m especially excited for him to be back home again, on the London stage and stages around the country. It’s going to be fantastic to present Pooh in his homeland.”
The New York production was nominated for a Drama Desk award for Outstanding Puppet Design. Rockefeller Productions was also shortlisted for an Off-Broadway Alliance award for Paddington Gets in a Jam. Their version of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show currently has 14 productions playing on five continents and the company’s Sesame Street: The Musical debuted in New York last year.
As for what qualities the performers need to possess for Winnie the Pooh, Jonathan notes: “All the puppeteers, not just the ones playing Pooh, have to be really talented at nuancing the characters and making sure they convey emotions, thoughts and feelings. The performers are essentially athletes. There’s Tigger with all his bouncing energy and Pooh being brought to life as a very large puppet. Then there’s the fact that because of the Disney cartoons, we all have a fixed notion of what he sounds like, so one of the biggest challenges for the actor playing Pooh is the fact that not only do they have to be a brilliant puppeteer and an athlete, they also have to capture the spirit of the voice that we know and love.”
On the UK & Ireland tour, the task of capturing the beloved bear’s movements, emotions and voice falls to Benjamin Durham, a 23-year-old ArtsEd graduate who hails from Stoke-on-Trent. Whilst in training his credits included Ragtime, Cats and She Loves Me, and since graduating he was in the ensemble of Young Frankenstein in Frankfurt. This is his first professional leading role. “And what a brilliant role it is,” Benjamin enthuses. “He’s such an iconic character so these are big shoes - or big paws - to fill but I’m excited.” He smiles. “A little bit nervous, too, of course but mostly I’m excited.”
Like Rockefeller, the young actor also grew up with the AA Milne stories and Disney cartoons. “And my mum even had a Winnie the Pooh mug. I’m sure everyone at some point in their life has met this little bear with, as he himself claims, very little brain but a very big heart. In the show, that’s very much how he is portrayed. You see the joy and the beauty of the world he lives in, in Hundred Acre Wood, and life there through the lens of his sweetness, kindness, generosity and love.”
Can he relate to the character in any way? “Hopefully I have a bigger brain,” Benjamin laughs, “but his kindness and wanting to help other people is something I try to emulate in my life. I don’t know if I do it as well as the little bear does but I try my best.”
Does puppeteering Pooh present any challenges? “It’s a physical challenge because the puppet is pretty big but it’s a really interesting way of telling the story and bringing the character to life. There’s a certain level of physicality and stamina that’s required, so it’s about looking after yourself, stretching, working hard and being sure to take breaks during rehearsals.”
Not only is this his first leading role, it’s also his first time touring in a show. “Again, it’s exciting and I can’t wait to take it to different audiences in different parts of the country. The themes are universal wherever you go. I hope audiences will take the themes of kindness and generosity to their hearts and the love that Pooh has for his friends. In the first scene in our show, he says to Piglet ‘It’s a good thing to be different, otherwise we’d probably all be the same’ and that theme of just being yourself is also so relatable now.”
The actor is interested to note that Milne wrote the stories for his son Christopher after serving in the Army in the First World War. “The country was reeling from something no-one had been through before and was still readjusting to some sort of normality again. The stories were about stripping everything back to the concepts of kindness and generosity, which is a message that resonates just as much today.”
Rockefeller agrees, adding of why tales about Winnie the Pooh are still so beloved: “I think it’s because the characters and the stories tap into the child in all of us. They’re just finding their way and exploring the world, and a lot of what happens comes from their misunderstandings or trying to wrap their heads around things. The world that A.A. Milne created is all about imagination and the wordplay he created is something we have a lot of fun with in the show.”
It is, he feels, the perfect family show. “It’s not just for kids. In New York, we saw many adults coming along to see it by themselves. What’s great about the show is that it’s accessible on so many different levels. Very young children will love it, while older children will enjoy the jokes and the wordplay and for adults it’s like being wrapped up in that wonderful nostalgia that we all have for these characters. It’s an experience of complete joy. It’s such a heartwarming show and that’s something which in today’s world we all need.”
Now bringing it over here for a UK & Ireland tour after a run at London’s Riverside Studios, creator and director Jonathan Rockefeller promises: “It’s everything you know and love about Winnie the Pooh.” Avoiding spoilers about the staging, the acclaimed family entertainment creator says: “You’ll really feel part of the Hundred Acre Wood from the moment you walk into the theatre. There’ll be characters and vignettes you’re familiar with - but in a new adventure.”
Presented by Jonathan’s Rockefeller Productions in partnership with ROYO and Disney Theatrical Productions, the show includes such songs as Winnie the Pooh, A Rather Blustery Day and The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers, which were written by multiple Grammy Awards winners Robert and Richard Sherman for various animated featurettes and anthologies. It also has some songs by author A.A. Milne and an original score by Nate Edmondson, a longtime collaborator of Rockefeller.
In a brand new story inspired by the books and screen stories, Pooh meets his best friend Christopher Robin every day for honey after breakfast. But then one day, Christopher isn’t there and Pooh has to fend for himself and find some honey. Along the way, he encounters the likes of Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga, Roo and Tigger too.
Created by a team of artists, designers, patternmakers, builders, welders and fabricators, the characters are rendered as life-sized puppets that the actor-puppeteers operate themselves. “The puppets are so tactile” Jonathan says. “They’re like giant articulated plush toys. The puppeteers in some ways are like Christopher Robin in that they play with the characters and make these stuffed animals come to life.”
The creator and director adds: “What’s wonderful is that we’ve been able to take A.A. Milne’s brilliant stories, Disney’s great animated featurettes and fantastic songs, and mix it all up into a new show. So even if you are incredibly familiar with all those aspects, it’s all in a completely new context. We’re paying respect to the author, the animators and the Sherman Brothers songs but putting our own spin on it.”
London-born Milne first chronicled the adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin (named after his son Christopher Robin Milne) in book form in 1926. He came up with the fictional Hundred Acre Wood in homage to Five Hundred Acre Wood in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, where he would often take his son for walks.
The naive, friendly, thoughtful bear and his colourful friends featured in the books Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner as well as in Milne’s poetry collections When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six. Illustrated by E. H. Shepard, they went on to sell 50 million copies.
Disney acquired the theatrical rights to the stories in 1961, producing three featurettes which were eventually incorporated into the 1977 full-length film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Disney’s Winnie the Pooh has since become one of the best-loved and most successful franchises in entertainment history.
Now, Jonathan has embraced the challenge of re-imagining Winnie the Pooh for theatregoers, saying: “I first saw the cartoons before I was able to read, then as I grew older, I really enjoyed reading the stories. To this day, they remain some of the best pieces of literature and the Disney animations are wonderful, so it’s been a challenge and an honour to bring these characters to the stage. I’m especially excited for him to be back home again, on the London stage and stages around the country. It’s going to be fantastic to present Pooh in his homeland.”
The New York production was nominated for a Drama Desk award for Outstanding Puppet Design. Rockefeller Productions was also shortlisted for an Off-Broadway Alliance award for Paddington Gets in a Jam. Their version of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show currently has 14 productions playing on five continents and the company’s Sesame Street: The Musical debuted in New York last year.
As for what qualities the performers need to possess for Winnie the Pooh, Jonathan notes: “All the puppeteers, not just the ones playing Pooh, have to be really talented at nuancing the characters and making sure they convey emotions, thoughts and feelings. The performers are essentially athletes. There’s Tigger with all his bouncing energy and Pooh being brought to life as a very large puppet. Then there’s the fact that because of the Disney cartoons, we all have a fixed notion of what he sounds like, so one of the biggest challenges for the actor playing Pooh is the fact that not only do they have to be a brilliant puppeteer and an athlete, they also have to capture the spirit of the voice that we know and love.”
On the UK & Ireland tour, the task of capturing the beloved bear’s movements, emotions and voice falls to Benjamin Durham, a 23-year-old ArtsEd graduate who hails from Stoke-on-Trent. Whilst in training his credits included Ragtime, Cats and She Loves Me, and since graduating he was in the ensemble of Young Frankenstein in Frankfurt. This is his first professional leading role. “And what a brilliant role it is,” Benjamin enthuses. “He’s such an iconic character so these are big shoes - or big paws - to fill but I’m excited.” He smiles. “A little bit nervous, too, of course but mostly I’m excited.”
Like Rockefeller, the young actor also grew up with the AA Milne stories and Disney cartoons. “And my mum even had a Winnie the Pooh mug. I’m sure everyone at some point in their life has met this little bear with, as he himself claims, very little brain but a very big heart. In the show, that’s very much how he is portrayed. You see the joy and the beauty of the world he lives in, in Hundred Acre Wood, and life there through the lens of his sweetness, kindness, generosity and love.”
Can he relate to the character in any way? “Hopefully I have a bigger brain,” Benjamin laughs, “but his kindness and wanting to help other people is something I try to emulate in my life. I don’t know if I do it as well as the little bear does but I try my best.”
Does puppeteering Pooh present any challenges? “It’s a physical challenge because the puppet is pretty big but it’s a really interesting way of telling the story and bringing the character to life. There’s a certain level of physicality and stamina that’s required, so it’s about looking after yourself, stretching, working hard and being sure to take breaks during rehearsals.”
Not only is this his first leading role, it’s also his first time touring in a show. “Again, it’s exciting and I can’t wait to take it to different audiences in different parts of the country. The themes are universal wherever you go. I hope audiences will take the themes of kindness and generosity to their hearts and the love that Pooh has for his friends. In the first scene in our show, he says to Piglet ‘It’s a good thing to be different, otherwise we’d probably all be the same’ and that theme of just being yourself is also so relatable now.”
The actor is interested to note that Milne wrote the stories for his son Christopher after serving in the Army in the First World War. “The country was reeling from something no-one had been through before and was still readjusting to some sort of normality again. The stories were about stripping everything back to the concepts of kindness and generosity, which is a message that resonates just as much today.”
Rockefeller agrees, adding of why tales about Winnie the Pooh are still so beloved: “I think it’s because the characters and the stories tap into the child in all of us. They’re just finding their way and exploring the world, and a lot of what happens comes from their misunderstandings or trying to wrap their heads around things. The world that A.A. Milne created is all about imagination and the wordplay he created is something we have a lot of fun with in the show.”
It is, he feels, the perfect family show. “It’s not just for kids. In New York, we saw many adults coming along to see it by themselves. What’s great about the show is that it’s accessible on so many different levels. Very young children will love it, while older children will enjoy the jokes and the wordplay and for adults it’s like being wrapped up in that wonderful nostalgia that we all have for these characters. It’s an experience of complete joy. It’s such a heartwarming show and that’s something which in today’s world we all need.”
WINNIE THE POOH THE MUSICAL UK and Ireland tour
Created and directed by Jonathan Rockefeller
Featuring music by The Sherman Brothers
with additional songs by A.A. Milne
Created and directed by Jonathan Rockefeller
Featuring music by The Sherman Brothers
with additional songs by A.A. Milne
Rockefeller Productions, in partnership with ROYO and in association with Disney Theatrical Productions, are delighted to announce the full cast for Disney’s Winnie the Pooh.
The role of Winnie the Pooh will be played by Benjamin Durham (Young Frankenstein). The much-loved characters of Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga and Roo will be brought to life by an ensemble of performers, including Laura Bacon (Britain’s Got Talent, Star Wars), Harry Boyd (The Play That Goes Wrong, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story), Alex Cardall (Evita, The Osmonds: A New Musical), Chloe Gentles (Mamma Mia!, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Lottie Grogan (Smurfs Save Spring: The Musical, The Lips for Puppets with Guys) and Robbie Noonan (Avenue Q UK Tour, Jack and the Beanstalk).
Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood, a new adventure is about to happen. A.A. Milne’s beloved characters, Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and their best friends Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit and Owl (and Tigger too!), will all arrive on stage in a beautifully-crafted musical stage adaptation.
In a new story from the Hundred Acre Wood, this fresh stage adaptation is told with impressive life-size puppetry, exciting new stories and featuring characters that have played iconic roles in the lives of children for generations. Accompanying the modern narrative is an original score by Nate Edmondson, featuring some of the Grammy award-winning songs written by the Sherman Brothers for the original animated features, including Winnie the Pooh, The Blustery Day, The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers and Whoop-De-Dooper Bounce, plus A.A. Milne’s The More It Snows (featuring music by Carly Simon) and Sing Ho in a new arrangement.
Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Adaptation is developed and presented by renowned family entertainment creator Jonathan Rockefeller (whose spectacular puppetry is omnipresent in the acclaimed productions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Paddington Gets in a Jam and Sesame Street the Musical).
Inspired by the beloved books by A. A. Milne and the classic Disney featurettes, the production was welcomed in New York in 2021, where it broke theatre box office records for the largest advance, with rave reviews where it was called “Enchanting!” (Time Out); “Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation is magical, sweet as honey, and full of humor. It's a wholesome, delightful, enchanting piece of theatre,” (BroadwayWorld); “A perfect reintroduction to live theater. It’s a captivating adventure with spectacular puppetry,” (Mommy Poppins); “Charming and whimsical stage show that Pooh surpasses every expectation I had for it,” (The Laughing Place); “Winnie the Pooh is delightfully first-rate,” (Theatre Pizzazz); “Irresistible. ‘Winnie the Pooh’ is sweeter than honey,” (DC Metro Arts); “An hour of bountiful joy,” (New York Theatre Guide); “Mesmerizing and lifestyle puppets and original Sherman Brothers tunes, the beautiful new Winnie the Pooh musical is must-see,” (Theatrely); “The wonderful thing about musicals is that musicals are wonderful things. The New ‘Winnie the Pooh’ Musical Is Sweeter than Honey,” (Toy Insider).
Website: winniethepoohshow.co.uk
Facebook: @WinnieThePoohShowUK
Twitter: @WinnieShowUK
Instagram: @WinnieThePoohShowUK
The role of Winnie the Pooh will be played by Benjamin Durham (Young Frankenstein). The much-loved characters of Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga and Roo will be brought to life by an ensemble of performers, including Laura Bacon (Britain’s Got Talent, Star Wars), Harry Boyd (The Play That Goes Wrong, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story), Alex Cardall (Evita, The Osmonds: A New Musical), Chloe Gentles (Mamma Mia!, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Lottie Grogan (Smurfs Save Spring: The Musical, The Lips for Puppets with Guys) and Robbie Noonan (Avenue Q UK Tour, Jack and the Beanstalk).
Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood, a new adventure is about to happen. A.A. Milne’s beloved characters, Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and their best friends Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit and Owl (and Tigger too!), will all arrive on stage in a beautifully-crafted musical stage adaptation.
In a new story from the Hundred Acre Wood, this fresh stage adaptation is told with impressive life-size puppetry, exciting new stories and featuring characters that have played iconic roles in the lives of children for generations. Accompanying the modern narrative is an original score by Nate Edmondson, featuring some of the Grammy award-winning songs written by the Sherman Brothers for the original animated features, including Winnie the Pooh, The Blustery Day, The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers and Whoop-De-Dooper Bounce, plus A.A. Milne’s The More It Snows (featuring music by Carly Simon) and Sing Ho in a new arrangement.
Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Adaptation is developed and presented by renowned family entertainment creator Jonathan Rockefeller (whose spectacular puppetry is omnipresent in the acclaimed productions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Paddington Gets in a Jam and Sesame Street the Musical).
Inspired by the beloved books by A. A. Milne and the classic Disney featurettes, the production was welcomed in New York in 2021, where it broke theatre box office records for the largest advance, with rave reviews where it was called “Enchanting!” (Time Out); “Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation is magical, sweet as honey, and full of humor. It's a wholesome, delightful, enchanting piece of theatre,” (BroadwayWorld); “A perfect reintroduction to live theater. It’s a captivating adventure with spectacular puppetry,” (Mommy Poppins); “Charming and whimsical stage show that Pooh surpasses every expectation I had for it,” (The Laughing Place); “Winnie the Pooh is delightfully first-rate,” (Theatre Pizzazz); “Irresistible. ‘Winnie the Pooh’ is sweeter than honey,” (DC Metro Arts); “An hour of bountiful joy,” (New York Theatre Guide); “Mesmerizing and lifestyle puppets and original Sherman Brothers tunes, the beautiful new Winnie the Pooh musical is must-see,” (Theatrely); “The wonderful thing about musicals is that musicals are wonderful things. The New ‘Winnie the Pooh’ Musical Is Sweeter than Honey,” (Toy Insider).
Website: winniethepoohshow.co.uk
Facebook: @WinnieThePoohShowUK
Twitter: @WinnieShowUK
Instagram: @WinnieThePoohShowUK
All photos taken by Kim Tobin Photography on Press Day earlier this year....
Remaining TOUR DATES
25 – 27 August Southend Cliffs Pavilion 0343 310 0030
thecliffspavilion.co.uk
29 – 30 August High Wycombe Wycombe Swan 0343 310 0060
wycombeswan.co.uk
31 August – 2 Sept Cheltenham Everyman Theatre 01242 572573
everymantheatre.org.uk
25 – 27 August Southend Cliffs Pavilion 0343 310 0030
thecliffspavilion.co.uk
29 – 30 August High Wycombe Wycombe Swan 0343 310 0060
wycombeswan.co.uk
31 August – 2 Sept Cheltenham Everyman Theatre 01242 572573
everymantheatre.org.uk