ON STAGE A MONSTER CALLS

PAtRiCK neSS’S novel about a 13-yearold boy struggling to come to terms with his mother’s terminal cancer is adapted for the stage by director Sally Cookson and her team of actors and musicians. Based on Siobhan Dowd’s original idea, the play casts matthew tennyson as the boy, Selina Cadell as his Grandmother, marianne Oldham as mum and Stuart Goodwin as the monster, with music from Benji Bower.

PREVIEWING now, opens Tuesday, Old Vic Theatre, The Cut, London (0844 871 7628/oldvictheatre.com).