Running Wild

Cass Sculpture Foundation, New Barn Hill, Goodwood, Chichester, Sunday, August 2, to Sunday, August 16

IT was a newspaper cutting about eight-year-old Amber Mason escaping the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Phuket on the back of an elephant which inspired former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo to pen Running Wild.

And now to mark its 30th anniversary Chichester Festival Youth Theatre is bringing the novel to the stage in its most ambitious project to date.

Running Wild follows the recently bereaved Will, who goes on the holiday of a lifetime to Phuket to experience his dream of riding an elephant.

During his beach ride the tsunami hits his holiday resort – and Oona the elephant bolts, carrying Will deep into the jungle to escape the deadly wave.

Safe in his new jungle home Will helps his pachyderm rescuer and his animal friends escape hunters led by evil palm oil king Mr Anthony.

For the open air promenade production director Dale Rooks has teamed up with puppet directors Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié, who previously worked on the National Theatre adaptation of Morpurgo’s War Horse.

“It means the young people have access to two of the UK’s most experienced puppetry directors,” she says.

“For the elephant there are five operators in the puppet – compared to the three that operated the horses in War Horse. It has taken their skills to a whole new level.”

The cast of puppets also includes a tiger and orang-utans.

“The way the young people operate them you do believe they are almost human,” says Rooks. “You forget they are puppets which is how it should be.

“It’s about telling the story in a different way – there is a narrative through the movement of the puppets. Those little gestures become so powerful, you get engrossed in what they are doing.”

Puppetry previously featured in the Chichester Festival Youth Theatre’s December 2013 show The Witches, which was choreographed by fellow War Horse puppeteer Rachel Leonard.

Working with the puppets is Alfie Scott, who is playing the central human character Will.

“He’s new to the youth theatre,” says Rooks. “When we saw him at auditions he had the right look, but there’s a maturity about him which enables him to carry the story.

“It is a huge responsibility - he had so much to learn, but he’s very quick and smart.”

As well as the puppetry the ensemble is responsible for the beach and jungle soundscapes of Running Wild - using a vocal technique known as “yoiking and hocketing”.

“It’s a rhythmic vocal sound which becomes very powerful when you get a larger ensemble doing it,” says Rooks.

“The vocalists have to support each other – it can’t be done with just one voice. When you hear 45 voices making that sound it’s difficult to describe. It will really carry in the open air.”

With no amplification the production relies on the actors’ projection skills.

And there were extra challenges for Rooks, from representing the passage of time in a play with no lighting or physical scene changes, to recreating a tsunami in the open air.

“The open air really suits the story,” says Rooks, adding the script has been penned specially for the world premiere by Samuel Adamson.

“The audience never sits down, they follow the story. They won’t know what is around each corner, which adds an element of surprise. There are brilliant sculptures which seemed to fit the story. We had to carefully choose the journey we would take.”

The decision to turn Running Wild into a stage play came from Morpurgo himself, who will be a special guest at the dress rehearsal, as well as giving a reading from his new book Listen To The Moon at Chichester Festival Theatre, in Oaklands Park, on Saturday, August 1 from 10.30am.

“Michael was keen to have the play presented by a youth group,” says Rooks. “We have a connection with Toby who had worked with Michael before on War Horse – he suggested us.

“Michael hasn’t been in rehearsals, but he’s really excited about seeing it. He did say: ‘I will support you wherever I can, but I won’t interfere’.

“Sam has been very truthful with the story – everything that Michael wrote is in there. It’s a superb adaptation.”

Starts 7pm, 3pm matinees, tickets £23. Call 01243 781312.