Interview with Faceplant Theatre

Natalia Knowlton - 13 February 2024

This week we talked to the award-winning family theatre company behind In the Dead of the Night, Faceplant Theatre.

Introduce yourselves – what does Faceplant Theatre do and when did you start collaborating?

Faceplant Theatre is a theatre company that makes very silly shows for family audiences. We started collaborating in 2018 with our debut production One Duck Down, which won the award for Family Show of the Year at the Vault Festival. It has since toured nationally and internationally, from Edinburgh to China. In the Dead of the Night is our fourth show as a company, and our first time adapting a book.

What’s your show In the Dead of the Night about?

In the Dead of the Night is the story of a young girl called Lily who, on a dark and stormy night, hears a strange tap tap tapping sound. Wondering what could be making the sound, her imagination brings to life a host of spooky and strange monsters, from a monster that eats nothing but socks, to a vampire that doesn’t know anything about being a vampire.

What inspired you to adapt Arthur McBain’s book In The Dead of the Night?

We were already very good friends with Arthur before he became a children’s author. Owen, one of our co-founders, went to drama school with him, so when he published a children’s book we, a family theatre company, thought it was a no-brainer to adapt our friend’s work! Plus, In the Dead of the Night is all about silly spooks and gruesome ghouls, two things we at Faceplant love.

When you’re thinking of adapting, what makes a story perfect for the stage?

A story has to be exciting from the get go, and have characters that are lots of fun to spend time with. Throw in a bit of heart and the potential to muck around and do silly things, then you’ve got a perfect story for stage.

What can parents and their little ones expect and why should they come see it?

Songs, spookiness, silliness, and some strange sounds….. Oh, and monsters!

You can catch In the Dead of the Night on March 10, find out more here.

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