946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips
946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips | |
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Written by | |
Based on | The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo |
Directed by | Emma Rice |
Music by | Stu Barker (composer) |
Choreography | Etta Murfitt Emma Rice |
Date premiered | 25 July 2015 |
Place premiered | Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, England |
Original language | English |
Setting | Slapton, Devon during World War II |
946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips is a play based on the book by writer Michael Morpurgo, adapted for the stage by Emma Rice and Morpurgo. The play is a Kneehigh Theatre production, that was directed by Rice; it features a life-size cat puppet the movements of which were choreographed by Sarah Wright. The play is set in Slapton, Devon during World War II, and is partly based on Exercise Tiger, the true story of a botched military training exercise carried out by the United States Army as a rehearsal for D-Day, which left 946 soldiers and sailors dead.[1]
Synopsis
[edit]The play is based on a real-life event that occurred during the Second World War that was initially kept quiet. The 946 in the title is the death tally of servicemen who were killed while they were doing practice runs for D-Day at Slapton Sands in Devon.
The play begins before the United States Army arrives, with Lily living in Slapton with her grandfather, her mother and her pet cat, Tips. Then some children that have been evacuated from London begin to arrive in the village, and she becomes friends with a boy named Barry. One day, after the army has arrived, two of the soldiers, who are black, stop by the school asking for directions. The students are taken aback because they have never seen a black person before. Lily kinda develops a crush on one of them nicknamed Adi, which is short for Adolphus. The villagers soon find themselves being forced out of their homes by the army, so they can use the area for practicing a military exercise for the impending attack at Normandy. When Lily realizes that Tips has been left behind, she makes an effort to find him, but can't, so she relies on the American soldiers who promise they will look for her cat, who eventually reunited Lily with Tips. The show features a band onstage performing original and period music.
A ship is burning in a howl of fire, 60 foot flames throwing light into the air and onto the surrounding sea. It is a little after two thirty in the morning and the crew, American sailors, jump in. Out by Slapton Sands in Devon, the Atlantic is only a little above freezing, and they feel it. This is how 28 April 1944 begins.[2]
Background
[edit]Exercise Tiger, or Operation Tiger, took place in April 1944 on Slapton Sands in Devon. It was one of a series of large-scale rehearsals for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Slapton Beach was selected for its similarity to Utah Beach; approximately 3,000 local residents in the area of Slapton were evacuated.[3] As a result of the botched training exercise, 946 soldiers and sailors were left dead.[1] British historian Giles Milton said "it's all the more staggering when you realize that more people were killed in the rehearsal for the landing, than were killed in the actual landing at Utah Beach".[4]
Morpurgo said the idea for the book came to him when he was sitting in a pub in Devon that had an array of old black-and-white photographs of American soldiers hauling furniture out of Slapton. The barman gave Morpurgo a quick rundown of what happened during Operation Tiger. Morpurgo also said that he read a local history book about the subject matter, which included an anecdote about a cat that "survived 10 months of bombardment from ships at sea". The name of the cat – Adolphus Tips.[5][6] Director Emma Rice said she heard about the book from her mum, and after reading it, said she "loved it". She went on to say that it's a "political book, and the heart of it has such a surprising twist that takes us from the modern day back in time and back again; I just thought this would be a great stage show".[7]
Tour dates
[edit]The show premiered on 25 July 2015 in the Asylum tent at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, on a run that ended on 23 August 2015.[8] The play had its debut in August 2016, at Shakespeare's Globe in Southwark, London, on a run that ended on 11 September 2016. The show starred Katy Owen, Mike Shepherd, Adam Sopp, Nandi Bhebhe and Ncuti Gatwa.[9] The tour then moved to the Bristol Old Vic in Bristol, for a short run from 16 November to 20 November 2016.[10]
The show then crossed the Atlantic to the United States where it premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre for a run from 2 December 2016 to 15 January 2017.[11] The production then moved to Los Angeles at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts for a run that lasted from 9 February 2017 through 5 March 2017.[12] The show made its off-broadway debut in Brooklyn at St. Ann's Warehouse for a short run from 20 March 2017 through 9 April 2017.[13]
Reception
[edit]Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Bay Area Reporter | [14] |
The Daily Telegraph | [15] |
Financial Times | [16] |
The Independent | [17] |
The Observer | [18] |
The Stage | [19] |
The Times | [20] |
WhatsOnStage | [21] |
Claire Allfree of The Daily Telegraph said the "director brilliantly suggests the ramshackle intimacies between the characters; but at two and a half hours it feels stretched, but for Kneehigh it's not just the tale but the telling that matters.[15] The New Yorker wrote that "if the script and its emphases perplex, the joyous staging consoles; the director, Emma Rice, has always had a way with visual metaphor, and her depiction of a calamitous battle—rendered with washtubs, toy boats, bright lights, and blood-red ribbons—is a thing of hope and glory".[22]
Richard Dodds of the Bay Area Reporter heaped praise on the production, writing that "Rice takes us on a topsy-turvy adventure that improbably starts out with a pet cat that has gone missing, and carries us through comedy, tragedy, neglected history, a bebopping Yank invasion, and as happy an ending as you can find at a time when the cards were stacked in death's favor".[14] Kate Wyver wrote in Exeunt Magazine that "the show spreads the message of accepting difference and welcoming newcomers, but the emotional scenes are never given enough time to settle before we’re thrown into a swing dance or unnecessary hand jive".[10]
British theatre critic Susannah Clapp said "this family show mixes carnival and tragedy in a series of mash-ups, both merry and sad; its musical bounce lands a strong argument, as the stage is full of characters who should make audiences think again about the word 'migrant'".[18] In her review for The Times, Kate Maltby wrote "like all Rice's work, this production is full of boisterous collective energy — and the occasional moments of clodding earnestness; there’s loss and darkness — especially when the show's title is explained — but perfectly pitched for a family show".[20]
In his review for The Independent, Paul Taylor wrote "it draws valuable attention to a disaster long kept secret, and the show is also a celebration of the mutual acceptance fostered by the war effort; I'm not sure that they've yet achieved the ideal balance between inspiring sentiment and inspired silliness and the proceedings feel a bit padded-out".[17] Laura Collins-Hughes wrote in The New York Times that "loads of puppets and Rice's customary practice of putting instruments in the hands of her excellent actors lend a pleasing whimsy to 946; Rice does not shy from the grimness of the military disaster; staged with smoke and fire in tubs of water at the front of the stage, it is horribly moving".[1]
Accolades
[edit]Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
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2017 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical | Nominated | [23] |
Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Puppet Design | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical | Nominated | |||
2018 | NAACP Theatre Awards | Best Ensemble Cast – Larger Theatre | Nominated | [24] |
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award | Specialty: Puppet Design | Won | [25] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Collins-Hughes, Laura (22 March 2017). "Black G.I.s, White Britons and a True Tale of Tragedy". The New York Times. p. C2.
- ^ Ellis, David (14 July 2016). "Globe's Emma Rice & Michael Morpurgo on new play 946". The London Standard.
- ^ Devon County Council (9 March 2007). "Slapton Line: Slapton Monument Rededication". Devon County Council. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016.
- ^ Raz, Guy (28 April 2012). "Operation Tiger: D-Day's Disastrous Rehearsal". All Things Considered. NPR.
- ^ Grice, Elizabeth (6 August 2016). "Michael Morpurgo: 'Europe is in terrible trouble - you shouldn't desert your friends in their hour of need'". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Bradbeer, Grace (1984). The Land Changed Its Face: The Evacuation of Devon's South Hams, 1943-1944. Harbour Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 0-907906-06-0.
- ^ Tran, Diep (December 2016). "Emma Rice Works Both Extremes: Playful, Also Truthful". American Theatre. Vol. 33, no. 10. p. 80. ISSN 8750-3255.
- ^ Hoggard, Liz (26 July 2015). "Emma Rice: 'It's interesting, the way we airbrush history'". The Guardian.
- ^ Society of London Theatre (25 July 2016). "946: The Amazing Story Of Adolphus Tips casting confirmed". Official London Theatre.
- ^ a b Wyver, Kate (18 November 2016). "Review: 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips at Bristol Old Vic". Exeunt Magazine.
- ^ McKevitt, Karen, ed. (29 November 2016). "Have Tractor, Will Travel". The Berkeley Rep Magazine. No. 3. p. 9.
- ^ Smith, Christopher (8 February 2017). "The play that started without a single written word: '946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips'". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Clement, Olivia (16 March 2017). "New York Premiere of 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips Begins at St. Ann's". Playbill.
- ^ a b Dodds, Richard (15 December 2016). "When Yanks Invaded Before D-Day". Bay Area Reporter. Vol. 46, no. 50. pp. 15, 17.
- ^ a b Allfree, Claire (27 August 2016). "Morpuro Works His Magic Again, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Shuttleworth, Ian (18 August 2016). "946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, Shakespeare's Globe, London — review". Financial Times.
- ^ a b Taylor, Paul (18 August 2016). "946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, Shakespeare's Globe, review". The Independent.
- ^ a b Clapp, Susannah (21 August 2016). "946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips review – carnival and tragedy". The Observer.
- ^ Morrison, Francesca (31 July 2015). "946 review, Kneehigh's Asylum at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, St Austell, Cornwall, 2015". The Stage.
- ^ a b Maltby, Kate (19 August 2016). "Theatre: 946 — The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips at Shakespeare's Globe". The Times.
- ^ Williams, Holly (18 August 2016). "Review: 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips (Shakespeare's Globe)". WhatsOnStage.
- ^ New Yorker (3 April 2017). "The Theatre: 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips". The New Yorker. Vol. 93, no. 7. pp. 14–18. ISSN 0028-792X.
- ^ Millward, Tom (19 October 2017). "Drama Desk Awards 2017". New York Theatre Guide.
- ^ Clement, Olivia (13 June 2019). "Lillias White, Viola Davis, Condola Rashad, and More Among NAACP Theatre Award Recipients". Playbill.
- ^ Carras, Christi (20 March 2018). "Hamilton, Rotterdam Tie for Top Award From L.A. Drama Critics". Variety Magazine.
Further reading
[edit]- Bradbeer, Grace (1984). The Land Changed Its Face: The Evacuation of Devon's South Hams, 1943-1944. Foreword by Major-General Julian Gascoigne. Harbour Publishing. ISBN 0-907906-06-0.
- Morpurgo, Michael; Rice, Emma (2016). 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips. Oberon Modern Plays. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78319-740-8.
- Morpurgo, Michael (2005). The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-787474-3.
- Rocamora, Carol (27 March 2017). Durell, Sandi (ed.). "946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips". Theater Pizzazz.