Margate resident Anne Blythe-Cooper will be directing the children’s favourite ‘Charlotte’s Web’ in July next year for the Hobart Repertory Theatre Company (HRTC).
As well as ‘Charlotte’s Web’, the upcoming season will include ‘Keeping up Appearances’, ‘Blithe Spirit’ and ‘Love from a Stranger.’
When speaking about what drew her to choose the story Ms Blythe-Cooper said, “Charlotte’s Web is the story of the unlikely friendship between a pig and a spider.
“There is a natural order in the barnyard that all the animals, except Wilbur, can accept but it’s not a dark story.
“Unaccountably, from the muck of the sty and the rubbish of the fairground, comes a miracle.
“Charlotte’s Web is a story about trust and the saving power of words and is a reminder life is more than the way it ends.
“The nature of the miracle is in the words the Charlotte the spider spins in her web.
“I want our younger audience members to know that the words they use have power and that words can change things, even if you are small.”
Ms Blythe-Cooper will be holding auditions to find the 14 cast members, who will be playing both humans and animals, in early April 2020.
“The set is going to be lovely and give Charlotte, the spider, a lot of scope for movement,” said Ms Blythe-Cooper.
“The costumes are going to be delightful but the animals will still be human characters.
“This is going to be a show that will please all of the family.”
Ms Blythe-Cooper is also the author of ‘The Shape of Water’ and has previously directed a performance of Pride and Prejudice for the HRTC.
Pictured above: Ellen Roe, Anne Blythe-Cooper, Pip Tyrrell (as Hyacinth Bucket), Shauna-Lee Ward and Nicholas Lahey in front of the Playhouse Theatre where Ms Blythe-Cooper will be directing the performance of ‘Charlotte’s Web’ in July 2020. (PS)
