AFTER its critically acclaimed premiere in London the Shakespeare’s Globe and Bristol Old co-production of The Little Matchgirl heads into Worcestershire this week as part of its UK tour.

Written and co-adapted by Joel Horwood - The Little Matchgirl and Other Happier Tales - to give it its full title, it has been co-adapted by Emma Rice and will be at Malvern’s Festival Theatre from this Wednesday, March 21 through to Saturday, March 24.

Struggling to keep warm on the freezing winter streets, our impoverished heroine begins to strike her dwindling stock of matches. Each match she strikes conjures a new story, and while it burns she escapes into an enchanting world of magic and mystery.

Inspired by the beautiful Hans Christian Andersen tales, we follow her through the spell-binding stories of The Princess and the Pea, The Emperor’s New Clothes and Thumbelina.

For adults and brave children alike this will be a truly remarkable theatre experience, full of music, laughter, puppetry and magic, and there is a recommended age of eight=plus.

The 7pm performance on Wednesday, March 21 will be captioned and there will be a relaxed performance on Friday, March 23, at 1pm.

Relaxed performances are specifically designed for people who find regular performance settings challenging.

Nic Lloyd, chief executive of Malvern Theatres, said: “We extend a warm welcome to people who feel overwhelmed by the ordinary performance environment.

“These relaxed performances are open to anyone who would benefit from a relaxed, non-judgemental atmosphere including, but not limited to, people living with dementia; people with an Autism Spectrum Condition; people with learning difficulties; people with sensory or communication difficulties; parents with young babies; and anyone who feels they would benefit from a more supportive and inclusive theatre-going experience.

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There will be a guided back-stage touch tour on Friday at 11.30am and this will provide an opportunity for blind and partially sighted theatre goers to go on-stage and familiarise themselves with the set, costumes, props and to meet cast members to begin associating voices with characters".



There will be a schools matinee performance on Thursday at 1pm, and also matinee performances on Thursday at 1pm and Saturday at 2pm.

The box office number is 01684 892277 and there is also the opportunity to watch a video of the show and book tickets online: http://www.malvern-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/little-matchgirl-happier-tales/