Based on the book by award-winning and best-selling writer Dick King-Smith, The Crowstarver is created for everyone from 8 upwards. Set during the Second World War on a Wiltshire farm, The Crowstarver tells the gripping and moving story of Spider Sparrow, abandoned as a baby in a lambing pen with a note pinned to his shawl – “PLEASE SAVE THIS LAMB”. Adopted by the shepherd and his wife it soon become clear to all around him that Spider isn’t like other children. And that he has the gift of being able to communicate with animals of all kinds – from foxes, which eat out of his hand to the wild bucking bronco he tames in true horse whisperer style. When he gets a job as the “crowstarver” on the farm, Spider is even fond the crows he must scare away from the newly sown wheat. Gradually he wins the respect and admiration of all around him. Spider is happy in his world, surrounded by wildlife and people who love and care for him. But in the background threats lie in wait for him - prejudice, war and his own fragile health.

The Crowstarver is a direct, vivid and moving story of acceptance, with the power to absorb and touch young people and adults alike.

Theatre Alibi brings to The Crowstarver its highly physical style of storytelling. Described recently in The Guardian alongside Kneehigh and Peepolykus as “one of Britain ’s most inventive companies”, Theatre Alibi delights in the seemingly unstageable, whether it be creating a bucking bronco on stage, a plane crash or a fox hunt in full flight. Powerful and beautiful live music is seamlessly integrated to evoke the world and mood of the story. Theatre Alibi shows are also highly visual, with delightful and sophisticated puppets and props.

The Crowstarver is performed by five actors and two musicians (on piano and violin). Many members of the creative team also worked together on Theatre Alibi’s highly successful, Why the Whales Came, including Director, Nikki Sved, and Composer, Tom Johnson. The show is adapted from Dick King-Smith’s book by Daniel Jamieson who has written extensively for the company, including successfully adapting Michael Rosen’s poems for the stage and writing the RSC commissioned The Night Before Christmas.

The Crowstarver runs at around 90 minutes plus an interval

some quotes from the press:

"Truly touching, unsentimental and inventive theatre that should be seen by everyone who loves theatre, and will convert those who think the form has little to offer today. A wondrous stage piece combining superb acting, brilliant puppets and live music that underscores and defines the action perfectly"
REVIEWSGATE

"This lush and dreamily performed production grabs you from the first scene. The whole cast are wonderful, playing a multitude of human and animal parts. This truly is faultless theatre - moving and highly original. Do not miss it"
WHATS ON STAGE

"Theatre Alibi has produced a show of great charm and potency. Powerful messages unfold about goodness and love, about cruelty and the destructive tentacles of war, about loneliness and fear. The Crowstarver is warm and engaging, just as it is dark and utterly moving"
HUDDERSFIELD EXAMINER

"This is a first class adaptation of Dick King-Smith's novel with superb acting by the five-strong cast. Their versatility is best illustrated by Derek Frood, whose gallery of parts includes the farm foreman, a malevolent schoolboy bully, an exuberant collie and a seemingly untameable bucking bronco"
OXFORD TIMES

"The Crowstarver is poignant, well-acted and deals with adult themes. This excellent production is highly recommended"
NEWBURY WEEKLY

"Rich storytelling, beautifully drawn characters and a trademark quirkiness all add up to a piece of theatre to savour"
EXPRESS & ECHO