The Box of Delights

by Piers Torday from John Masefield

Published by Faber & Faber

5 Male 3 Female

Adapted for the stage for the first time by Piers Torday, John Masefield’s much-loved classic The Box of Delights lauded by The Times as “One of the greatest children’s books ever written”

It’s a magical and festive adventure in which one boy must confront the secrets of the past to defeat the evil in his present

Kay Harker is heading home for the school holidays

Recently orphaned, he knows this Christmas will be different but nothing could prepare him for the journey that lies ahead

On the train he meets an old magician – Cole Hawlings – who charges Kay with safeguarding a wondrous device that has time-travelling powers

It’s an instrument that Cole’s nemesis, the wicked sorcerer Abner Brown, will stop at nothing to steal for himself

And so when the old man mysteriously disappears, Kay faces the fight of his life

The future of Christmas itself depends upon him and now he must protect both the Box of Delights and the people he loves