Rediscovering the delights of Enid Blyton for a new generation - Chichester

With music & lyrics by Theo Jamieson, book by Elinor Cook and based on the books by Blyton, it played the Anthony Hopkins Theatre, Theatr Clwyd from September 23-October 15 . Now it comes to the CFT from October 21-November 12, directed by Tamara Harvey in a CFT co-production.

When George and her dog Timmy find out that her cousins Julian, Anne and Dick are coming to stay, they’re pretty sure the whole summer is ruined. But out in the bay lies Kirrin Island and a ruined castle filled with mysteries to solve. Together they embark on a daring mission with the future of the planet at stake – a mission that might just be the making of the Famous Five…

Dewi Wykes is delighted to take on the role of Julian: “For me personally I had always wanted to work with Tamara. I had seen a couple of her shows previously and they just looked like a bunch of fun. Tamara is fantastic. She just has immense trust and it’s about being able to play. This all about the books and the storyline but you also want to have the freedom to play which is lovely.

" I was read some of Enid Blyton’s books when I was younger by my dad and I do think the stories are timeless in many ways, and I do think here and there a Blyton still being read. The point is the characters are human. What is really nice about the script is that these are characters who have human problems, universal problems, things that we all have to deal with. All the other stuff, the Blyton stuff, the fizzy pop and the adventures, all that is in the script but it's also good that we can see these people as real. What is really good about our version is that we can apply it to any time really. It's not necessarily set when it was written and it's not necessarily set in modern times. It is timeless to that extent.”

Dewi is playing Julian: “And when you're adapting a book and a character like Julian, there is a certain pressure to get it right but I'd say that the key to him is that he is the oldest, the leader. He is clever and that's what you've got to bring out but what is really interesting about Elinor’s script is that there is also anxiety to him. Being the older sibling there is a sense of growing up, that sense of growing away.

“And the music is absolutely fantastic. The lyrics are just wonderful without giving away too much. It seems to have captured every character in song. As soon as I went for the audition I got Julian’s song through and it's just really absolutely nailed the character. The music is also just so catchy. I've had friends have come to see it and they're still singing the songs.”

“I've never been to Chichester though I did watch the lockdown version of Crave online and I follow them online to see the work that they are doing which is just fantastic. Chichester is really exciting. To perform at Theatr Clwyd which is my childhood theatre and then to go onto Chichester is fantastic. I'm still relatively new to the profession so this is great that it is happening now.” Dewi graduated from Bristol in 2021. Inevitably his education was hit by the pandemic: “I think what it has shown me is the total unpredictability of this industry 100%. One minute you’re working and then you're behind the bar and then there is Covid and everything is shut. My third year was more online than I would have wanted and not really the experience I was hoping for but I'm just pleased to I've got through it.”