About the Play:

The Suitcase Kid is a well-known children's novel, by renowned contemporary children's author, Jacqueline Wilson. This is the play version adapted for the stage by Vicky Ireland. Dealing with the break-up of a family home, Andrea is condemned to shuttling between her Mum and Dad, when each takes up with a new partner. The Suitcase Kid can be produced as a two act play with songs (with original music by Steven Markwick), and will last about one hour and forty-five minutes. It can also be performed as a one-act play lasting about an hour (suggested cuts are marked in the published text).

The Suitcase Kid centres around the character of Andrea, better known as 'Andy' - ten-year-old Andrea used to live happily with her family at Mulberry Cottage: Andy, Mum, Dad… and Radish her tiny stuffed rabbit, who lives in Andy’s pocket and shares all her secrets. But then it all went wrong: Mum went to live with Bill and his kids, and Dad went off with Carrie and her twins. And Andy? Well, she must leave the home she loves to shuttle between the two – living out of a suitcase – and deal with parents who still fight, step parents, step siblings, two different bedrooms (neither of which is really hers), loneliness, and an acute longing for the past. Her grades sink. Her friends drift away. And she's not quite sure how to fix any of it. The Suitcase Kid is a funny and touching story of how Andy comes to terms with this strange new life. Wisely, Jacqueline Wilson doesn't offer instant solutions; rather, she chronicles Andrea's journey to the beginning of equilibrium in her new life. Things will never be the way they were, but, as the play suggests, they'll get better over time. A family show suitable for young actors as well as young audiences aged seven and up. The adapter, Vicky Ireland, has provided production notes to indicate how the play can be staged even with minimal resources – plus a lot of ingenuity!

The Suitcase Kid was first staged in 2007 at the Orange Tree Theatre in the south-west London Borough of Richmond and later toured throughout the UK.

Cast: 2 female, 1 male, plus 2 female or male extras (large cast possible)

What people say:

"A real theatrical treat … the audience of school parties fell quiet as mice and raptly attentive the second the lights went down." — Scarborough Evening News

"The Suitcase Kid pushes the boundaries of children's literature." — Liverpool Daily Post

About the Authors:

Jacqueline Wilson is one of the UK's favourite authors, and her books are loved and cherished by young readers not only in the nation but all over the world. She has sold millions of books and in the UK alone the total stands at over 25 million! In 2002 Jacqueline was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she was the Children's Laureate. In 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

Vicky Ireland is one of the foremost theatre practitioners in the UK. She is a freelance Children's Theatre Director and Writer. In 2002 she was awarded the MBE medal in the Queen's Jubilee Birthday Honours list for services to children's drama, the first of its kind.