Easter Adventures at Warwick Arts Centre

Coming to Warwick Arts Centre stage. Photo by Ellie Kurttz.

A major new adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book is coming to Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, this Easter. Running from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7 April 2024.

Preview

Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler’s Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book leaps from the page to the stage. Plus spook-filled action with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, and more. Suitable for ages 3 - 8, don't miss this puppet-filled musical which celebrates the joy of reading.

Charlie loves reading, especially books about pirates. But his sister hates it - it’s boring! Can Charlie convince her that reading is fun? Perhaps if she read a book about a pirate, who is reading a book about Goldilocks, who is reading a book about a knight...

Charlie Cook's Favourite Book has been bought to life by Little Angel Theatre, with composer/ lyricist Barb Jungr and writer/ director Samantha Lane - whose previous collaboration, The Smartest Giant In Town, was nominated for a Best Family Show Olivier Award.

Georgie Samuels, Pierre Hanson-Johnson in Charlie Cook's Favourite Book Photo©Ellie Kurttz

Discussing the adaptation, famed picture book writer Julia Donaldson said: "I am delighted that Little Angel Theatre has adapted Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book for the stage. It is a book that celebrates the joy of reading in many forms - books, magazines and even encyclopaedias. It is a book within a book within a book - in fact there are 11 books in total - complete with pirates, ghosts, dragons and aliens, to name a few."

Illustrator Axel Scheffler said: "Charlie Cook's Favourite Book is very different to the other stories by Julia that I have illustrated, as it is made up of many stories in one book. I enjoyed illustrating the different genres and creating the various characters, and it is great to see my illustrations now come to life on the stage. Little Angel Theatre's clever production team has designed and created animal puppets that actually appear out of their individual books as their stories happen, which is such a brilliant idea.”

Continuing the literary theme, The Big Read (Saturday 6 April 11.30am-4pm) is a day of free workshops, read-alongs and interactive sessions, presented by Resonate in collaboration with Warwick Arts Centre and Kenilworth Books. Aimed at ages 3-11, activities run from 11.30am to 4pm.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Meanwhile, Warwick Arts Centre’s plush cinema is screening the much-anticipated latest instalment of the revived Ghostbusters franchise, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (from Friday 22 March 2024), starring Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson.

Marking 40 years since the original movie, the new film picks up the story from 2021’s smash Ghostbusters: Afterlife and sees the Spengler family move from rural Oklahoma to the New York City firehouse where the original ghost-busting team started. Now, in the face of a chilly new threat, paranormal investigators from across the generations must unite to save the world.

Robot Dreams.

Also heading to the cinema over the Easter break is the delightful Robot Dreams (cert PG - Friday 29 March to Thursday 4 April 2024). Dog is tired of being alone, so he builds himself a companion Robot, and the two become best friends until, one night, they are forced apart. Will they ever meet again?

To find out more about all the Easter activities at Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, and book tickets, see: warwickartscentre.co.uk