THE Tiger Who Came To Tea keeps coming back for more tea as David Wood's musical adaptation of Judith Kerr's story revels in serving up the teatime mayhem.

"You have to go back to 2008 for when it started; we're in our ninth year with this show now," says David, the prolific writer and director of plays and musicals for children, whose 2017 production visits the Grand Opera House, in York, from August 11 to 13.

"We opened at the Bloomsbury Theatre for the summer season as a try-out and it's just carried on and on, continuing to tour, and it's been in the West End five times now. It was the first show for under-fives to be nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and Family Show, but that's a category for all the shows that aren't in other categories, so we lost out to Derren Brown – and a tango show by two of the Strictly dancers," recalls David. "But I did win it for Goodnight Mister Tom the following year, so I can't complain, can?!"

York Press:

Tiger time: Hit show heads for Grand Opera House. Picture: Michael Jean-Marain

Ironically, the writer of such hit stage adaptations as The Gingerbread Man, BFG, The Witches, Meg And Mog, Spot and Babe The Sheep Pig had not spotted the theatrical potential of Judith Kerr's tale of the doorbell ringing just as Sophie and her mummy sit down to tea. Who could it possibly be? Who could have expected to see a big, stripy, hungry tiger at the door?

"I'd read it, I'd loved it, but I'd never thought about adapting it, even though my daughters absolutely adored it," David admits. Mind you, Judith Kerr had not thought it would make a stage show, as she told him at a writers' garden party held in honour of HM The Queen.

"But here we are, nine years later, and it's been to the Sydney Opera House, China, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and it's going back to China next week. I've directed it ten, maybe 12, times and I'm back in the rehearsal room again soon because we need two teams: one for the UK tour and foreign shows and one to take over in the UK when the show goes abroad."

York Press:

Let him eat cake: Tiger has plenty on his plate. Picture: Michael Jean-Marain

'Tiger' has toured around the country five or six times, but not everything is rosy in the provincial garden. "One of the main things that's interesting to me, and is quite sad, is that the primary-school market is becoming much harder to encourage to come to the theatre, when the school audience has always been most important for me. However, over the past 15 years, the under-fives market has really taken off and become the growth market," notes David.

He passionately believes it is the right of every child to go to the theatre at least once, preferably for free, and The Tiger Who Came To Tea is the perfect show for such an experience.

"It combines all the elements I like in children's theatre: there's magic; songs; music; audience participation, particularly for the small ones. It just seems to have everything I've learnt over the years and wrote about in my book Theatre for Children: Guide to Writing, Adapting, Directing and Acting," he says.

Judith Kerr, who is still writing books at 94 by the way, was more than happy for David to expand her story into a 55-minute play with more visitors to Sophie and her mum, such as the milkman and the postman. "It builds up the excitement of the tiger finally coming to tea, and when he does arrive, the children are really ready for it, so I was faithful to Judith's concept while adding things," he says.

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Playwright David Wood: 50 years of writing for children

"Her Tiger talked in the book but I wanted my Tiger to be completely covered so you can't see the actor inside and he has to do everything by miming, which is very empowering for children because they know more than what's being said on stage.

"That again was something that I've learnt through 75 plays I've done over the years: a mute character on stage is very appealing to children. The fact that children love food, and this story is all about food, also helps; it's set in a house, and that helps too, and children enjoy arrivals in a show, so all the elements were there and I think I could tell this play was going to work a week before we opened."

After 50 years of writing plays for children, David Wood OBE is as busy as ever at 73. "There's a new production of George's Marvellous Medicine in preparation for the Christmas show at Curve in Leicester, which will then be touring," he says.

"And the new one I'm trying to get into production at the moment is Back Home, an adaptation of Michelle Magorian's book, after I adapted her story Goodnight Mister Tom." Can't wait!

The Tiger Who Came To Tea comes to tea at Grand Opera House, York, August 11, 1.30pm; August 12 and 13, 11am and 2pm. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york. Suitable for age three upwards.

York Press:

Not the Tiger, but the dad at the door

Win the book and family ticket

Courtesy of the Grand Opera House, The Press has one signed copy of Judith Kerr's book, The Tiger Who Came To Tea, plus a family ticket (two adults, two children) for the 2pm performance on August 12 to be won.

Question: Who is the author of the book The Tiger Who Came to Tea? 

Please send your answer by email to carolineushercox@theambassadors.com by 9am on Wedmesday, August 9. Usual competition rules apply.