The world premiere stage adaptation of Quentin Blake’s MRS ARMITAGE ON WHEELS 

from 18-21 February 2026 as part of Southbank Centre’s ‘Imagine’.

Illustration courtesy of BBC.

Meet the magical, marvellous Inventor Extraordinaire, Mrs Armitage!

Quentin Blake’s MRS ARMITAGE ON WHEELS is being adapted for the stage. This world premiere production goes on sale on 20 November as part of Southbank Centre’s ‘Imagine’, from 18-21 February 2026. Directed and adapted by Samantha Lane, artistic director of the award-winning Little Angel Theatre, this brand-new musical adaptation of the award-winning BBC animated series Quentin Blake’s Box Of Treasures features a treasure trove of clever puppetry and original live music.

Samantha Lane said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be adapting and directing Mrs Armitage on Wheels for the stage. It’s such a joyful, imaginative story – full of heart, humour, and the boundless possibilities of creativity. Mrs Armitage’s world is wonderfully eccentric yet deeply human, and I can’t wait to bring her spirit of inventiveness and togetherness to life in a production that celebrates her generosity, resilience, and sheer love of making marvellous things.”

Celebrating the power of imagination and the importance of community, Mrs Armitage is a brilliant and eccentric inventor whose wild and wonderful creations are always remarkably useful. When she and her faithful dog Breakspear set off on a quiet bike ride to visit cousin Angela, she can’t stop thinking of ways to improve her bike. But after adding horns, snack trays, umbrellas, a dog bed, even a sail, will she ever get there?

The full creative team includes Jessie Maryon Davies (Music and Lyrics) Ryan Dawson Laight (Set and Costume Design), Maia Kirkman-Richards (Puppetry Design and Director), and Ian Oakley (Sound Designer).

Quentin Blake’s Mrs Armitage On Wheels – Live On Stage has been developed in association with Eagle Eye and Little Angel Theatre and based on the BBC animated series ‘Quentin Blake’s Box of Treasures’ available on BBC iPlayer.

CREATIVE TEAM

• Samantha Lane – Director & Adaptor
• Jessie Maryon Davies – Music & Lyrics
• Ryan Dawson Laight ­– Set & Costume Design
• Maia Kirkman-Richards – Puppetry Design & Direction
• Ian Oakley – Sound Design

About the Southbank Centre

The Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest multi-arts centre and engages the most diverse audiences of any performing arts organisation in the UK. Our biggest venue, the Royal Festival Hall (2,700 seats) is the lasting legacy of the 1951 Festival of Britain and the ambition and values of that project – that arts, ideas, innovation and culture can heal communities and should be available and accessible to everyone – are still our guiding principles today. The Southbank Centre is uniquely able to offer a wide-ranging, inclusive and world-class artistic programme spanning contemporary visual arts, music, dance, performance, literature, comedy and spoken word across the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, the Hayward Gallery and our free spaces. We are also home to the National Poetry Library, the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP), two resident organisations (Kinetika Bloco and Tomorrow’s Warriors) and six resident orchestras (Aurora Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Orchestra).