Peter Pan Musical by Pam Ayres

book and lyrics by Pam Ayres, and music from award-winning composer Louis Mander. The

production will be narrated by Classic FM host and children’s author Zeb Soanes, and the chorus

provided by the Minpins Children’s Choir.

Says Pam Ayres, “Writing the lyrics for Peter Pan with Louis Mander saved my sanity! My husband

and I had planned the trip of a lifetime in 2020, a voyage to Sydney on QM2! This jolly plan was

thwarted however when Covid struck world-wide – our ship was unable to dock in many of the

places on the original itinerary and at one point we sailed aimlessly round the Indian Ocean for

fifteen days! The frustration of all this was completely softened by the joy of writing the lyrics for

this musical. Instead of my usual Pam subjects, it was brilliant to imagine myself as the crocodile, as

blood-curdling Captain Hook, or poor jealous Tinkerbell. I loved both the writing and the music Louis

composed to go with my lyrics. I did not presume to change the original tale, but I hope the festival

audience will enjoy this fresh look at the classic, much-loved story, and the addition (if I say it myself)

of our lovely fun-filled songs.”

Says Louis Mander, “Peter Pan – A New Musical is a magical family show to captivate all ages. It’s

been a delight to work with the Minpins Children’s Choir, it’s been great to see new generations so

disciplined, and at the same time so rapt and interested in this new music. They absolutely capture

the essence of the show – it’s very Peter Pan!”

Says Zeb Soanes, “What an utter delight it was to be invited to narrate the World Premiere

performance of this exciting musical version of Peter Pan, with J.M. Barrie’s words lovingly adapted

by national treasure Pam Ayres with an effervescent and enchanting score by Louis Mander. Come

to this special festival performance where magic is guaranteed — but only if you believe!”

About Pam Ayres MBE

Pam Ayres has been a writer, broadcaster, and entertainer for over 40 years. She is the author of

several best-selling poetry books, including The Works, Surgically Enhanced, You Made Me Late

Again!, and The Last Hedgehog. Pam’s autobiography, The Necessary Aptitude, was a best seller

when it was published in 2011. Her book Pam Ayres on Animals, published last year, was the UK's

Best Selling Poetry book of 2021. On radio she is a regular on Just A Minute, has made six series of

her own Ayres On The Air, and has appeared twice on the legendary Desert Island Discs.

Pam performs her solo stage show throughout the UK, and lives in the Cotswolds, where she is an

enthusiastic gardener for wildlife. Autumn 2022 will see Pam's second TV series, The Cotswolds &

Beyond, broadcast on Channel 5.

Pam is currently working with award-winning composer, George Fenton, to turn her collection, Who

Are You Calling Vermin? A Country Conflict, into a musical.

About Louis Mander BMus PGDip RCM

British composer Louis Mander studied at The Royal College of Music and The University of

Birmingham. His music has been commissioned and performed internationally and includes a large

body of music for the stage, including opera and musicals, as well as music for the concert platform.

Making a name as an opera and film composer, Louis has received numerous commissions, including

an English Folk Opera, Wild Edric by Chilmark Opera, Salisbury, ballet score The Tarot, by Sarasota

Ballet, Florida, a triptych of cantatas to celebrate the building and consecration of Ely Cathedral,

by Cantata Dramatica, film soundtracks for award winning director Stuart Gatt, and numerous

song cycles, including a First World War commemoration for the Austrian Cultural Forum in London

and most recently in Gloucestershire a new song cycle premiered by Roderick Williams and Iain

Burnside in 2021 at the Ludlow Song Festival.

He has written operas including the three-act Beowulf, a french operetta The Dowager's

Oyster and First World War double-bill The Fallen Soldier, setting Ivor Gurney's poetry to music.

Surrey Opera produced Mander's two act opera The Life to Come, (based on a short story by EM

Forster) with libretto by actor and writer Stephen Fry. Outside of opera, his chamber music includes

string quartets, sonatas for violin, cello and concertos for viola, piano and violin. Soloist Jonathan Hill

recently recorded three albums of Mander's music which are available on Spotify. His Pair of

Limericks, settings of Stephen Fry's comic verse were published in 2021 in New York by New Music

Shelf Limited.

Recent commissions include an orchestral work for the Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra,

premiered earlier this year, a new work for symphony orchestra & narrator based on Kipling’s Just So

Stories which was premiered at the Cadogan Hall in 2021 by the Mozart Symphony Orchestra.

Forthcoming projects include a new collaboration with children's author and broadcaster Zeb Soanes

and a new mass for St. Johns, Hyde Park, London.

About Zeb Soanes - Narrator

Zeb Soanes is a distinguished newsreader and reassuring voice of the Shipping Forecast to millions of

listeners on BBC Radio 4. Sunday Times readers voted him their favourite male voice on UK radio. On

television he launched BBC Four, where he presented the BBC Proms. He has hosted major live

music events to huge audiences in Trafalgar Square at London’s Southbank Centre and the Royal

Albert Hall. At literary festivals including Hay and Edinburgh he chairs discussions with best-selling

authors that have included Francesca Simon, Patrick Gale and David Walliams.

Zeb has earned a reputation as ‘the go-to person for music narration' (Daily Telegraph) with the

UK’s leading orchestras, performing favourite works for children including Babar the Elephant,

Paddington's First Concert and Peter and the Wolf. He is a frequent reciter of Walton's Façade,

including a critically acclaimed recording conducted by John Wilson. His best-selling first book for

children, Gaspard the Fox, illustrated by James Mayhew, began a series of stories inspired by his

remarkable encounters with a real urban fox. His third book, Gaspard’s Foxtrot, has been adapted as

a major new narrated orchestral work by the composer Jonathan Dove.

About The 76th Stroud Arts Festival

Touchpoints, interactions, serendipitous moments… this 76th Stroud Arts Festival is all about

Connections. Today we need connections more than ever, to remake friendships with each other,

and re-engage with the world beyond our four walls. As we join back in with life and events

following what has been a most strange, and for many highly isolating experience, the arts can help

us reconnect. Against this background, we are proud to present this year’s programme for the 76th

Stroud Arts Festival, which weaves together local history, creativity and our relationships.

Guest Artistic Director, Dave Ayre says, ”I’m delighted to present another programme for Stroud Arts

Festival, this year going back to our traditional week in October. A 5-day feast of music, art, spoken

word, drama and film, making connections between the arts and, I hope, between ourselves again.

So come out and experience the joy of wonderful, world class live performance here in the heart of

Stroud.”

Founded in 1946, Stroud Arts Festival is the ‘grandparent’ of all the wonderful festivals this area has

to offer. Stroud Arts Festival is a charity promoting and supporting artistic activities across the

Stroud District of The Cotswolds. In its earlier years Stroud Arts Festival gained a national and even

international reputation for the calibre of its events. In the 1960s and ’70s, it sponsored a poetry

competition which drew more than 900 entries from over 35 different countries.

For the full programme see https://stroudartsfestival.org

About The Netlam and Margaret Bigg Trust

The Netlam and Margaret Bigg Trust is the main benefactor of the Stroud Arts Festival. Local

philanthropists Netlam and Margaret Bigg were deeply involved in many initiatives, including the

festival which was founded in 1948. Together, they looked to create a legacy of arts for Stroud that

positioned the town on the national landscape, based on high quality works that made people of all

ages and backgrounds reflect on the world around them. Not art for art’s sake, nor art with an

agenda, but art as a way of connecting and communicating with people, locally and further afield.

PETER PAN – A NEW MUSICAL, BY PAM AYRES AND LOUIS MANDER

DETAILS:

Saturday 23 October 2022

The Sub Rooms, Stroud

6.30pm to 8.30pm including interval

Tickets:

• Adult £18

• Under 18s £5

• Family ticket (2 adults+ 2 children) £32

Box Office Link: https://thesubrooms.co.uk/whats-on/hewletts-opera-presents-peter-pan-590

Stroud Arts Link: https://stroudartsfestival.or