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The Box of Delights

Article Discussion

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The Box of Delights is a children's fantasy novel by John Masefield. It is a sequel to The Midnight Folk, and was first published in 1935. It is also known as When The Wolves Were Running.

PlotEdit

Kay Harker is returning from boarding school when he finds himself mixed up in a battle to possess a magical box. It allows the owner to shrink in size, to fly swiftly, to go into the past and to experience the magical wonders contained within the box.

The current owner of the box is an old Punch and Judy man called Cole Hawlings whom Harker meets at the railway station. They develop an instant rapport, which leads Hawlings to confide that he is being chased by a magician called Abner Brown and his gang, which includes Harker's former governess. For safety, Hawlings (who turns out to be the medieval philosopher and alleged magician Ramon Llull) entrusts the box to Harker. The schoolboy then goes on to have many adventures as he protects the box from those who wish to use it for bad deeds.

AdaptationsEdit

BBC radioEdit

There have been several radio adaptations of The Box of Delights.

Children's HourEdit

This six-part adaptation, with a script by Robert Holland and John Keir Cross, was produced three times by the BBC as part of its Children's Hour, in 1943, 1948 and 1955. Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break

1943Edit

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1948Edit

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1955Edit

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Saturday Night TheatreEdit

This was a one-off drama, with a script by John Keir Cross, broadcast in 1966, and repeated in 1968 and 1969. It was then remade with a new cast in 1977.

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1966Edit

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1977Edit

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Radio 4Edit

1995Edit

Two-part drama with a script by John Peacock.

BBC Television 1984Edit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} A BBC TV adaptation of The Box of Delights was broadcast in six parts between 21 November and 24 December in 1984. It starred Devin Stanfield, Patrick Troughton and Robert Stephens as Kay Harker, Cole Hawlings and Abner Brown respectively<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and adapted for television by Alan Seymour, directed by Renny Rye and produced by Paul Stone.<ref name=radiotimes>Template:Citation</ref>

It featured an innovative mixture of live action and animation, in particular Quantel Paintbox and chroma key effects. The series cost £1-million to make in 1984, the most expensive children's series the BBC had made to that date,<ref name=radiotimes/> but it was widely acclaimed and won a number of BAFTA and RTS awards, in particular for its special effects.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The opening and closing title music features an orchestral arrangement of "The First Nowell" extracted from the third movement of the Carol Symphony by Victor Hely-Hutchinson. It had been used for earlier radio adaptations and has become synonymous with the story.<ref name=music>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Eclipse Performing Arts 2011Edit

Eclipse Performing Arts, a theatre company in Corby, Northamptonshire, were given rights to adapt the book into 6 radio episodes to be broadcast on Corby Radio on the 6 Saturdays leading up to Christmas Eve. Jim Byrne and Gavin Mills adapted and produced the series and behind-the-scenes podcast (BODcast) called Opening the Box<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in which they discussed how each episode was created including interviews with the cast.

The cast included local amateur performers from around Northamptonshire and was recorded in and around the local Corby area.

Original Corby Radio broadcast dates:

Episode One - Saturday 19th November 2011

Episode Two - Saturday 26th November 2011

Episode Three - Saturday 3rd December 2011

Episode Four - Saturday 10th December 2011

Episode Five - Saturday 17th December 2011

Episode Six - Saturday 24th December 2011

The final episode was preceded by a two hour live radio show in which Gavin and Jim hosted the cast in a celebration of the show with the cast choosing their favourite songs throughout the broadcast.

Sadly, due to the original broadcasting rights given to Eclipse Performing Arts, the shows were only available to listen to at the time of broadcast on the radio or for 4 weeks after on the Corby radio website. The production has not be rebroadcast since 2011.

Big Finish 2021Edit

Big Finish Productions produced an audio play of The Box of Delights, which was released on CD and download in June 2021,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> starring Derek Jacobi, Mark Gatiss and David Warner. The script was adapted by Christopher William Hill.

OperaEdit

John Masefield adapted an opera libretto from his book, also incorporating elements of The Midnight Folk, which was eventually set to music in the late 1980s by the British composer Robert Steadman.

TheatreEdit

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Wilton's Music Hall presented an adaptation by Piers Torday between 1 December 2017 and 6 January 2018. Billed as a world stage premiere, the production was directed by Justin Audibert and designed by Tom Piper.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The production was reprised, with a new cast, between 30 November 2018 and 5 January 2019.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Royal Shakespeare Company presented the production at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon between 31 October 2023 and 7 January 2024.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ReferencesEdit

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  • Flynn, Simon: "A Magic Curiously Suited to Radio?": The BBC and The Box of Delights. The Journal of the John Masefield Society, No. 12 (May 2003), pp. 21–35.

External linksEdit

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