Britain would be nicer if people lived more like Paddington, says musical writer Jessica Swale

Taking on the telling of this beautiful story definitely came with a health warning – ‘don’t mess it up!’ The books and films are so beloved, I felt a huge responsibility to do justice to the original material, and keep enough of the Paddington ‘myth’, while also re-imagining it for a contemporary audience.  

Focusing on making the story work in the theatre was the key and where I found my groove. Knowing that we were making a show for a live audience, in a theatrical setting, would give our version its own voice. There’s nothing quite as exciting as a live performance.

My job became telling the story in a way which embraced everything we, as theatre makers, have at our disposal – from Tom Pye’s innovative designs to dance, magic, playful theatricality and comic set pieces.  

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We wanted to make sure our show wasn’t ‘the movie on stage’. Partly because that’s not interesting for us creatively, but also because the films were so brilliant, why would we just regurgitate them? If you want that story, go watch the film!  

So, we decided to forge our own path, using the outline of the books and first movie as a diving board, but making our own pool to swim in, so to speak. That was a necessity really, as the demands of writing for film are so different to theatre.  

In a movie you have close-ups, so you can understand what a character feels just by getting right in to see the detail of a facial expression. In theatre, some of your audience are 30 rows back, so you need to tell that same emotional beat through dialogue and action – if you rely on an expression, half your audience will miss it.

So, Paddington’s loneliness when he arrives, for example, has to be articulated – spoken or sung, when in the movie you relay that just by moving the camera in to witness that in a moment of silence. And it’s on me as a writer to make sure those elements of the story are clear.  

I had lots of fun thinking through what opportunities there were to make the story bigger, more physically dynamic and also resonant specifically to our contemporary audience. The main aim was, after all, to tell a great story, which tugs at the heart strings as well as making people laugh. And that’s why, right at the beginning, I had to ask myself, if we’re going to tell the story of Paddington: why on stage and why now? Why is this story important?  

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The ‘why on stage’ bit was easy. Here is an incredibly charming character who goes on a huge journey and we can show that theatrically if we fully imagine the world he’s arriving into – contemporary London – and use dance and music to bring that to life. And it was really important, as we’re making the show in present day London, to embrace what London is to us now. 

To me, as a Brixton resident, London is the most vivid, vibrant, diverse community imaginable. There are 36 languages spoken in my borough (Lambeth) alone – that’s the most anywhere in the country – and that’s something to be celebrated.  

So I wrote new characters to show the span of the London population, and we made dance sequences where we whizz through street scenes featuring builders, Deliveroo drivers, paramedics, police, ambulance, all the services, the Beefeaters, grannies shopping, young break dancers, Borough market traders. They’re all there. And that feels real, representative and celebratory. 

That depiction of London as a diverse, multi-faceted, loud and exciting city, to me is central to the story. And that answers the question of ‘why now?’  

Paddington is the tale of an outsider arriving in this city and trying to find his feet. Michael Bond said himself that Paddington is a refugee looking for a home. He travels on a boat from Peru, stowing away, then winds up at Paddington station with nothing but a label and a tiny suitcase, hoping someone will offer him help. And it’s only because he’s lucky enough to find the Browns that he is all right. He’s one of the fortunate ones. 

We felt so strongly that this search for acceptance and a need for a safe home had to be at the heart of our story. Especially now. In a moment when there is a wrestling match over issues of immigration making daily headlines, Paddington’s story has never been more relevant. And in his story, kindness wins. Acceptance wins. And everyone in the community where Paddington lands finds that their lives are enriched by his presence.  

If only we could stick that on a label around the Houses of Parliament. As theatre makers, we try to ask questions rather than dictating answers when it comes to politics. But it does seem to me, in this particular story, that, while politics can be complicated, kindness isn’t – and our community would be a nicer place to live if everyone lived with a little more of Paddington’s spirit. 

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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