Zog and the Flying Doctors coming to the Churchill Theatre from March 24

Julia Donaldson’s much-loved characters are headed to Bromley for a brand new adventure.

Based on the bestselling book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, Zog and the Flying Doctors is coming to the Churchill Theatre from March 24 to 26 as part of its world premiere tour.

The play for three-year-olds and up follows the dragon Zog who has become an air ambulance with Princess Pearl and Sir Gadabout, his Flying Doctor crew.

Together they tend to a sunburnt mermaid, a unicorn with one too many horns and a lion with the flu.

But Pearl’s uncle, the King, has other ideas about whether princesses should be doctors, and she’s soon locked back up in the castle in a crown and a silly frilly dress.

First published in 2016, Zog and the Flying Doctors is the sequel to Zog, which has sold over 1.5 million copies.

The ideas for the story came to Ms Donaldson one piece at a time.

She said: “It was quite unusual in that the initial idea didn’t come from me.

“My editor said to me ‘it would be lovely to have a story about a dragon’, so I started thinking about it and the name ‘Madam Dragon’ came into my head, which I thought had a nice sound.

“And then I thought what could Madame Dragon do, who could she be? I came up with various ideas and a schoolteacher was one of them, so I took it from there.

“Originally it was going to be about a knight and a dragon, but it ended up being about a princess and a dragon.

“My husband Malcolm, who is a doctor, also had some input here. Because when I was planning the story, I knew that Zog would keep meeting the princess, and originally I was going to have them play together and toast marshmallows.

“And Malcolm said that’s a bit soppy, couldn’t it be something with a bit more oomph? And then I came up with the doctor angle”.

Many of Ms Donaldson’s books have now been adapted for film or theatre where they are reimagined.

She said: “For me, it’s like an extension of working with an illustrator.

“Handing it over to a theatre company or film company you know it’s going to change a bit; the end product will be a blend of my words and their artistic vision.

“And they do usually consult me and tell me what they’ve got in mind.”

The stage adaptations of Julia and Axel’s books, from Zog to Stick Man, are often a child’s first time experiencing live theatre, something Julia clearly takes pleasure in.

She said: “I remember going to see The Nutcracker when I was a child and I found the whole thing completely magical.

“I can still remember how I felt when the curtain went up.

“I suppose in a way it’s the same thing that a book gives you, in that while you’re reading or watching, you believe in a different reality.

“And if it’s a good show, parents love to see that their children – even very young ones – can just be transfixed by it.”

Image credit: Mark Senior