McFly Star and children’s author, Tom Fletcher, has joined the team of creatives for an upcoming stage musical adaptation of Paddington. The reimagining of Michael Bond’s much-loved, marmalade-sandwich eating, refugee bear will feature music and lyrics writen by the singer and songwriter of McFly (All About You, Obviously, Five Colours in Her Hair) fame, Tom Fletcher.
Fletcher said: “I really hope that I’ve done everyone who loves Paddington justice… This is so different to anything I’ve ever done before. I feel like this show is so ready to be out in the world, it’s the most special thing I’ve ever been a part of in my whole life.
“There is something so magical about seeing Paddington step out on to the stage, and seeing him… I was about to say in the flesh, but I guess in the fur is more accurate,” Tom jokingly added.
Tom was first approached about Paddington in early 2020, and workshopped the project with scriptwriter Jessica Swale, director Luke Sheppard and the producers (Eliza Lumley and Sonia Friedman) before the show was formally announced in 2023.
Jessica Swale said: “We’re bringing a lot of new flavours to the table, but of course we’re all in love with the original material, so we’ve been faithful to our cast of characters.
“Of course, the Browns are part of it, and familiar faces like Mr Gruber and Mr Curry, but there are a lot of new people as well. We’ve been very inspired by the books and the films but we like to think we’re covering new territory.”
The musical, which has been in development for five years, is based on Bond’s original novels and follows the three hugely successful films, starring Ben Wishaw who voices the lovable Paddington. The show will open at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End on 1st November, following Paddington as he arrives from Peru in search of new home and family in London.
Swale adds: “I think he’s [Paddington’s] completely magic, and to me he’s very real. But I don’t think audiences will be disappointed. It’s a wonderful, theatrical version of how to tell this story.”
A Bear Called Paddington, the first book in Bond’s series, was published in 1958. Following which, the author went on to write 29 Paddington books in total, the final one being Paddington at St Paul’s, which was published posthumously in 2018. The stories have sold more than 35 million copies worldwide.
Swale notes that the musical “also reveals the spirit and the politics of Paddington”.
“For example, Paddington is a refugee, so we want to honour the fact that he is somebody who migrates to the UK and doesn’t have a home, and make sure we are conscious of the experience of who he represents.”
