YORKSHIRE theatre company Red Ladder are to mount a month-long tour of their first ever family show, the world premiere of John Ward's musical adaptation of Nicobobinus.

Red Ladder have teamed up with Ward's company, DumbWise, to present an epic adventure of dragons, pirates and Monty Pythonesque silliness, transferred to the stage from Terry Jones's book about "the boy who could do anything".

Adapted and directed by Red Ladder associate director and DumbWise artistic director Ward, the musical features a cast of five actor-musicians, who combine original songs with instrumental acrobatics, singing, exciting storytelling and jovial Python wit.

Jones's tale is set in a land where dragons are locked in boiler rooms and mountains move like the oceans. Nicobobinus and his best friend Rosie embark on a wild adventure to cure him of a golden curse but, obstructed by kidnapping pirates and savage nine-foot monks, will they find the cure in time or be forced to return to their home in Venice, changed forever?

Premiered in London over Christmas, Nicobobinus will be on the road from Saturday until March 9, including a 2.30pm performance at Pocklington Arts Centre on February 16 (box office, 01759 301547).

Terry Jones describes Nicobobinus as "one of my favourite characters". "He’s full of magic and charm and jumps off the page with no trouble. I saw an in-development version of the show last year at Greenwich Theatre and was blown away by its energy and vibrancy and I wish it all the luck in the world on tour!” says the Monty Python veteran and award-winning children's writer.

Red Ladder's producer, Chris Lloyd, is delighted by Terry's response to the play. "Terry continues to be an incredibly busy man, and as such we continue to be ever grateful for his ongoing support of this first ever stage adaptation of Nicobobinus," he says. "Director John Ward is a life-long fan of the book, and he has created a version which really does justice to the magic and imagination of Terry’s story. We’re really thrilled to be working with DumbWise on such an exciting new show.”

The show features original compositions by musical director and performer Eilidh deBonnaire. Away from Nicobobinus, she is the resident facilitator at the Almeida Theatre, in Islington, London, where she manages and directs projects for young people and students with learning difficulties.

Red Ladder, a radical theatre company from Leeds with a 46-year history, champions new writing, most often agitating for social change and global justice, so Nicobobinus represents a break from their norm. DumbWise are a London actor-musician company whose work fuses original songs with storytelling rich in musicality and a commitment to creating new musicals of all shapes and sizes.

As for the ever busy Terry Jones, after last year's Monty Python re-union, he is in post-production for his new film, Absolutely Anything, a sci-fi comedy about a group of eccentric aliens with an experimental bent that confers a human being with the power to do absolutely anything. Set for release in July, it stars Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale... and the late Robin Williams.