Making & Touring Little Robin Red Vest

Last year I worked with Filskit Theatre and a dream team of artists to adapt Little Robin Red Vest into a touring theatre show. Now that a little time has passed, I’m taking a moment to look back, and reflect on what we learned…

Sophie Ross & Andy Owens in Little Robin Red Vest (photo by Zoe Manders)

Adapting a picturebook

Little Robin Red Vest is a beautiful picturebook, written and illustrated by Jan Fearnley. We were really lucky to be able to work with Jan – she’s been supportive and generous at every step. The whole team fell in love with the book, and wanted to honour both the story and the pictures. So Designer Rachel Baynton created a snowy set which managed to look like the illustrations and fit in the back of a van, and Composer David Lewington wrote original music which evoked the world of the story.

What we learned: We loved using the illustrations as well as the words – songs, characters and scenes were developed from tiny details in the pictures.

One of Jan Fearnley’s gorgeous illustrations

Making work for children with children

It sounds obvious but it’s massively important that if we’re making a show for 2-6 year-olds then they need to be part of the creative process. We worked with pupils at Wyndham Park Infants, Exeter House School, St Martins Primary, and Salisbury Home Education families – testing early drafts of the script, songs and design, asking for feedback and ideas, and then inviting them to special preview performances.

What we learned: It was really exciting to have so many children involved in the making of the show – and it’s the most straightforward way of making sure we get it right!

Year 1 at Wyndham Park Infants watching an early version of the show - we used their feedback that afternoon to change the final song and the set design!

Touring…not just to theatres

Little Robin visited theatres – but we also went to lots of places you wouldn’t normally expect to see a show, like libraries and leisure centres. The lovely feedback we got from these shows proved that it’s really important to do this kind of touring. Lots of towns don’t have a theatre or arts centre, and libraries can be easier to access for a lot of people.

What we learned: How to get the set out of the van and up three flights of stairs ready for a 10am show…then back in the van and onto the next town for another performance that afternoon. This kind of touring is hard graft – but it’s worth it!

Stage Manager Amber Chapell cuing the show at Alton Library

Sustainable theatre

Like most people, we care about making our work as sustainable as possible. We used Theatre Green Book and Julie’s Bicycle tools to track and assess the environmental impact of making and touring Little Robin Red Vest.

What we learned: Generally speaking, we found that where something is cheaper – like reusing set/props/costume – we already do it! The challenge comes when sustainability costs more (either in money or in time) because making theatre on this scale is already so stretched. But tools like Theatre Green Book are a really helpful guide for the production process.

Designer Rachel Baynton wielding a paintbrush - the set and costumes were a mix of recycled and new elements.

Including everyone

We wanted to do everything we could to make sure that Little Robin Red Vest was accessible to as many people as possible. We worked with Sam Stephen, a brilliant Makaton Consultant who helped us to creatively integrate Makaton signs and symbols. We also worked with Access Consultants Kate Fox & Dom Harbot to develop a Visual Story and Relaxed Performances. The children and teachers at Exeter House (a special school for children with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties) helped us test sensory and interactive elements.

What we learned: We got loads of positive feedback about the integrated Makaton signing – both from those who rely on Makaton to communicate, and from those who hadn’t come across it before. We think that considering access at every stage of making a show can only be a positive – it makes the show stronger, and it makes the audience experience better for everybody.

Makaton Consultant Sam Stephen teaching Andy and Sophie in rehearsals

I’m grateful to have worked with so many wonderful people to make Little Robin Red Vest – it’s been a long process which began back in 2022, and there are lots of people who have worked on and shaped the show over that time. Little Robin is special, and we hope that he’ll be back in 2025 to remind us of the importance of kindness and friendship at Christmastime…

The creative team after the first preview performance at Salisbury Library