How did New Old Friends come to adapt Anthony Horowitz’s 1986 children’s novel The Falcon’s Malteser into a hit family stage show? How has a new gender-equal, four-strong cast brought it to life for its London premiere? And what do the kids (including a keen young Spider-Man!) – and parents – in the audience think?
I had such a giggle at the opening night of The Falcon’s Malteser at The Vaults on Friday and was delighted to return on Saturday afternoon to talk to the show’s co-creators, New Old Friends’ husband and wife team Feargus Woods Dunlop and Heather Westwell, and the cast for a chat after the matinee performance.
The Falcon’s Malteser introduces the Diamond Brothers Detective Agency. Tim is the world’s worst private investigator, so can the help of his clever younger brother Nick be enough to crack their toughest case yet? A solitary box of Maltesers is delivered by a miniature Mexican, but what’s so special about these chocolates that half of London’s criminal underworld are willing to kill for them?
In New Old Friends’ signature style: expect slapstick, comedy songs, a cast for four playing dozens of characters and a fully-realised car chase on stage, fun for all the family over the summer holidays. A hit on tour and in Edinburgh, The Falcon’s Malteser was named one of the Guardian’s Best Family Shows.
Sian Eleanor Green and Matt Jopling play Nick and Tim Diamond with Fergus Leathem and Samantha Sutherland playing a host of other characters. The young adult novel by Anthony Horowitz, also the best-selling author of the Alex Rider teen spy series, is adapted by Feargus Woods Dunlop, directed by Lee Lyford with Heather Westwell and designed by Carl Davies.
For more video, photos and tweets from this post-show Q&A, visit TerriPaddock.com.
Q&A video
Terri Paddock founded WhatsOnStage.com and the WhatsOnStage Awards, running the company and its events from 1996 to 2013. Terri is also the author of two novels, Come Clean and Beware the Dwarfs, and has previously written for the Evening Standard, Independent, The Times and other national publications. She is renowned for her 'legendary' post-show Q&As and also produces the annual Critics' Circle Theatre Awards and acts as a digital, content strategy and event consultant for theatre, producers and other clients. She tweets about theatre at @TerriPaddock.
