Much-loved author re-tells Dickens classic

Adapted for the stage by BAFTA award-winning playwright Roy Williams (Soul, Sucker Punch), with original music by rising R&B star Yaya Bey and BAC Beatbox Academy’s Conrad Murray, Unexpected Twist is a thrilling new production from the producing partnership behind Holes and The Jungle Book.

Shona and her class are studying Oliver Twist. She’s new in school and keeps finding herself in trouble – much like Oliver himself. When she’s given a new phone by a stranger, she begins to suspect there’s something fishy about the new kids she’s met.

Directed by James Dacre (Olivier Awardnominated Our Lady Of Kibeho and artistic director of Royal & Derngate, Northampton) with design by Frankie Bradshaw’s (Two Trains Running) Unexpected Twist brings to vivid life the worlds of both Shona and Oliver, as their stories twist together, unexpectedly.

Michael Rosen said: “I have always been a huge lover of theatre and the dramatic arts. I believe in the power and value of live performance and rate it as an equal to all the other literary activities. I can’t describe what a thrill it is for me to know Unexpected Twist is going to be a play.”

Yaya Bey added: “Working on Unexpected Twist has been such a pleasure. Everyone has been so kind and willing to collaborate. I wasn’t sure how I would relate to the story coming from the States, but there is such an emphasis on important issues that transcend culture barriers, and it has made it easy for me to pull from my experience.”

Unexpected Twist follows The Children’s Theatre Partnership’s hugely successful production of Robert Icke’s Animal Farm, a reimagined version led entirely by puppets, which toured nationally from February 2022.

Tickets are available from the Malvern Theatres box office on 01684 892277.