Have you ever, ever felt like this? Round the Twist is now a musical
Paul Jennings’ much-loved children’s book Round the Twist became a hit television series and now it’s about to pull off a triple Twist as a fully-fledged stage musical.
Worldwide sensation Round the Twist has morphed over three decades from best-selling book to much-loved TV series and now a world-premiere musical.
Round The Twist The Musical, a co-production between Queensland Theatre and QPAC, opens in the QPAC Playhouse on November 12.
This iteration of author Paul Jennings’ creation that revolves around the sometimes-supernatural adventures of a family who live in a lighthouse began with a spark of an idea eight years ago. It was a prosaic family moment for internationally acclaimed writer, composer and lyricist Paul Hodge.
“I have a lot of nieces and nephews and I had been trying to think of a musical that I could write that all my family could come and see,” explains Hodge. “I had watched Round the Twist as a kid and there’s an episode where Bronson, the youngest Twist kid, saves up the stink of his feet for six months to use it as a weapon. And, so, every time he uses this power he says, `Up the pong!’.
“In December of 2016, my mum was changing my nephew’s nappy and she said, `oh, that’s a pongy nappy’. And my brain immediately went, `Up the pong!’. Then I went, `oh, my God, Round the Twist! I should adapt it as a musical!’ So that’s how the idea was inspired.”
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Eight years on from that moment – which Brisbane-boy Hodge says is the usual development time for a musical of this size – he’s hopeful this world premiere, directed by Simon Phillips, will be the start of a tour that takes the show around Australia and ultimately to its biggest television audience – in the UK.
“We have an amazing creative team and the cast are just incredible,” Hodge says. “It’s very exciting to have all these young Queenslanders involved. I think it’s a great showcase for a bunch of young actors. It’s been delightful for me to see them in the rehearsal room bringing these characters to life so authentically.
“I did not realise when first adapting it that it has aired in almost 70 countries. It’s probably more famous in the UK than in Australia.”
One member of the cast who has been lucky enough to watch the musical evolve from its earliest days is actor Hanlon Innocent, who is cursed to appear without his pants as eldest sibling Pete Twist.
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“Here we are for the world premiere and I feel really, really chuffed that they’ve brought me along for the whole journey,” Innocent says. “It feels really amazing to get to finally show it to people. There’s a lighthouse, there’s ghosts, there’s all kind of hijinks. It’s going to be very cool.”
It’s the intergenerational nature of the story that Innocent thinks is the key to its longevity in the hearts of Australians.
“There are people that grew up watching the TV show, like the writer of the stage musical Paul Hodge,” Innocent says. “And there are people like me who are watching the reruns. Then there are people who want to introduce their kids to this really special part of their childhood. It’s a show that doesn’t water down topics for the kids. It’s supernatural, it’s wild, it’s crazy, it’s zany.”
Round The Twist The Musical covers episodes from the first two seasons of the television series and has Jennings’ blessing, thanks to Hodge’s faithfulness to the spirit of the show.
“Paul Jennings and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation have said that they had been approached before about turning it into a musical and said no, but for me they were going to say yes,” Hodge says.
Fans of the show will be relieved to hear that the iconic theme song is pivotal to the storyline, as well as Hodge’s original music.
Round The Twist The Musical, QPAC Playhouse, November 12 to December 8.
qpac.com.au