Theatre--Performance

ACTING UNLIMITED and WANDERLUST THEATRE CO.

With the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Performing Arts Department

Present

NEIL GAIMAN’S

WOLVES IN THE WALLS

Based on the book by Neil Gaiman

Adapted for the stage by Cody Daigle

And

THE BOOK OF D

A Play for Young Actors by Cody Daigle

July 26 – August 5

Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday at 3 p.m.

Burke-Hawthorne Hall (on the UL Campus)

For more information, call 484-0172.

 Acting Unlimited (AUI) and Wanderlust Theatre Co. are teaming up with the UL-Lafayette Performing Arts Department to present an exciting addition to the summer theatre calendar: WOLVES IN THE WALLS, a world premiere adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s award-winning children’s book “The Wolves in the Walls,” and THE BOOK OF D,  a world-premiere play for young actors by Cody Daigle.

Lucy is hearing strange noises in the walls  – noises she believes to be wolves. No one believes her… except her puppet, Pig. Then one night, Lucy discovers that the wolves in the walls are real. And they’re coming out to play…

Adapted for the stage by local playwright Cody Daigle, WOLVES IN THE WALL will feature  a spectacular puppetry design by Brady McKellar and Elsa Dimitriadis, artistic directors of Wanderlust Theatre Co., incorporating a host of puppetry techniques. The show will be a visual theatrical event filled with puppetry, pandemonium and the dark fantasy world of Neil Gaiman.

The production will also receive support from the area’s vibrant visual arts community. Rob Guillory, local artist and an Eisner-award winning creator of the comic book series “Chew,” will supply the poster art for the production.

Gaiman and McKean’s “The Wolves in the Walls” was first published in 2003, and it won awards for the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book (2003), the IRA/CBC Children's Choice (2004) award and the British Science Fiction Association award for Short Fiction (2003).

This production has the blessing of Gaiman and his team, and it will be the only time this version of the show will performed anywhere.

In THE BOOK OF D, imagination and myth combine to help two young people forge a friendship and cope with the pressures of growing up. D keeps a book that contains an explanation for everything. When D meets Blu, it seems like a new story of friendship is going to be written. But life has other plans – as it always does – and stories become the strongest link between them.

THE BOOK OF D was written specifically for the show’s cast, and will serve as a curtain-raiser for WOLVES IN THE WALLS.

The production also marks the first collaboration between the two lead producing companies. AUI has recently produced David Ives’ “Lives of the Saints” and the first post-controversy production of Mike Daisey’s “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs” in the country. Wanderlust Theatre has delighted audiences with their production of “Match” and “Shylock.”

“AUI and Wanderlust Theatre both have reputations for delivering exciting theatre work,” Marie Diaz, lead producer, said. “This collaboration is a natural fit. We look forward to bringing Gaiman’s world to life for local audiences.”

WOLVES IN THE WALLS (with the curtain-raiser THE BOOK OF D) will run July 26 – August 5 at Burke-Hawthorne Hall on the UL Campus. Curtain on Thursday, Friday and Saturday is 7:30 p.m. Curtain on Sunday is 3 p.m. For more information or for ticket reservations, call 484-0712.  To purchase tickets online, click here.