Books can transport their readers to a different world, but what happens if that world is full of dark magic and ferocious and forbidding villains, where secrets are revealed and stories come alive?
The answer will be revealed at Manchester’s Home this December as its first ever Christmas production for all the family will be an adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s worldwide best-selling novel Inkheart, directed by Walter Meierjohann.
The story ,says Walter, is not as well known in this country as in others but presents Home with a glorious opportunity to bring alive the ten very individual characters in the production.
Walter was first made aware of the story, first published in 2003, back in Germany when he was offered the chance to produce the play
The script had been rewritten from the German version for the UK but,says Walter has elements that will attract those who may prefer the traditional panto, characters that you will love and hate and opportunities for audience interaction.
The hero is 12-year-old Meggie, who finds herself bang in the middle of the kind of adventure that she’s only ever read about in books. Thrust into an epic battle with the baddest of bad guys, can Meggie and her team of unconventional allies stay one step ahead of their scheming foes, and keep those they love safe from danger?
Walter hopes the audience will connect with Meggie as she searches for her mother, facing differing dangers and meeting strange characters but the message is also relevant to events happening in the present, the threat to books and the destruction of culture.
Cornelia Funke was born in Germany in 1958 and has written more than 50 books. The first part of her ‘Inkheart’ trilogy, Inkheart, was published in 2003, and following its huge worldwide success, she was named two years later by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Inkheart was made into a hit film in 2009, and the second and third parts, Inkspell and Inkdeath, appeared in 2006 and 2008 respectively. Her novels have been translated into almost 40 languages.
Cornelia will be the special guest at HOME’s Big Family Day on Sunday 13 December 2015, featuring festive fun, games, and arts workshops for all the family.
Inkheart runs Friday 4 December 2015 – Saturday 9 January 2016.
More information available at http://homemcr.org/production/inkheart – #Inkheart
