The story of Fenella – Holmfirth’s legendary tiger – is being told in a new stage production.
The award-winning M6 Theatre Company will present A Tiger’s Tale, a brand-new family show coming to Huddersfield’s Lawrence Batley Theatre later this month.
The play has been written by Olivier award-winning Mike Kenny – one of England’s leading writers specialising in theatre for young people – whose previous credits include a staging of the Railway Children.
A Tiger’s Tale tells the true story of Fenella, a Sumatran tiger who was given to the Overends, a family of circus entertainers when they were touring South Africa in the 1930s. They brought her to Britain on their return and she lived with them in Holmfirth from 1939 to 1950.
She was often seen being walked past the primary school by her owner.
Fenella died in 1950 after her 10th birthday and was much mourned by sisters Kassie and Meg Overend who had looked after her devotedly.
The energetic show presents Fenella’s tale from a circus train in South Africa to a steamboat on the Atlantic Ocean and onward to West Yorkshire.
It features original music by James Atherton, who previously scored Around the World in 80 Days and the UK Theatre Award winning The Snow Queen. The show also includes a ramshackle travelling troupe performing a high-spirited balancing act of circus, puppetry, live music and song.
Explaining what sparked her interest in Fenella’s story, the show’s director, Gilly Baskeyfield, said: “I came across the story years ago when I met one of the Overend sisters whilst working on an arts project.
“When I asked the frail, old lady about her life, I didn’t expect to hear that she had been an acrobat in her family’s travelling circus troupe. And I was even more amazed to hear that they had reared a tiger cub and brought it back to live amongst the villagers in Holmfirth.
“It’s a famous story locally, but beyond the village it’s hardly known. It has always felt like a story that was just waiting to be turned into a play for children.
“You never know what adventures life has in store and it’s a privilege to have the chance to show that even the most ordinary looking people can have the most extraordinary stories to tell.”
Founded in 1977 and based in Rochdale, M6 Theatre Company is rated one of Britain’s leading touring theatre companies specialising in high quality theatre for young audiences.
The play will be at the Lawrence Batley Theatre at 1pm and 3.30pm on Saturday, February 17, as part of a nationwide tour.
