BOOKING NOW: MUST SEE EVENT

Pinocchio

Hull Truck, Runs until December 31. Tickets, hulltruck.co.uk

Hull Truck Theatre’s Christmas production this year is Pinocchio, re-imagined for audiences in 2023 and lovingly adapted by writer Mike Kenny (The Railway Children). Remaining loyal to the classic family favourite, originally written by Carlo Collodi in 1883, this action-packed production sees Pinocchio journey on the adventure of a lifetime.

With catchy original music by composer and co-lyricist John Biddle, the show promises to be one that audiences will remember fondly for years to come. “There are a few new twists and turns to give everyone a surprise,” says Kenny. “And, let’s face it, a story just isn't a story without a few surprises.

“One thing about Pinocchio, which makes it particularly suitable for midwinter, like all good Christmas tales, is that it has some darkness at its heart, a lot of humour, a central character you really care about, and a spark of hope. And our version also has a lot of great songs.”

Biddle adds: “We found ourselves getting excited by the simple story of a young character desperately wanting to feel ‘real’, and it suddenly felt so in tune with what many young people experience now, especially forming their identities online – who am I, what defines me, what makes me real?

“I think there’s a lot in this story to help reassure people on all those questions. It is often quite challenging to adapt a story that is so well-known and loved.”

“I’m a big believer in being as true as you can be to the original,” adds Kenny.

“If a book is any good, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth telling the story the original writer wrote. Having said that, sometimes you must make radical changes, in order to stick to the spirit of the original. Sometimes people have assumed that I have made big changes, when I’ve stuck very close to the original.”

And Biddle’s music will help to make this Pinocchio different from other adaptations of the story. “I think there’s two distinct sides to the songs,” he says. “There is the world of this beautiful, small family unit of Gepetto and Pinocchio, with the music using lots of marimbas, and then a bawdy, spit-and-sawdust sound of our band of storytellers, inspired by travelling circuses, who conjure the whole story for us.”