Adapting Picture Books for the Stage
By Samantha Lane
One of the questions I’m asked most often is: How do you adapt a picture book for the stage?
I’ve adapted or co-adapted ten books for the stage (nine picture books and one junior novel) and I’m currently in the midst of a research and development (R&D) process, experimenting with ideas, form, and staging for a new adaptation, while also co-adapting another junior book, due to be announced imminently. For this blog, I’ll focus on A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. It is my most recent adaptation (co-adapted with my long-term collaborator, Barb Jungr, and currently on a UK tour) and provides a great case study for how I translate a compact picture book into theatrical storytelling.
As with any picture book adaptation, one of the most immediate challenges in developing a piece for theatre is bridging the gap between the source material’s brevity and the demands of a full theatrical experience. The original text might take only a few minutes to read aloud (about six minutes, in the case of A Squash and a Squeeze), yet the stage version needs to sustain a 45-minute performance that remains engaging, emotionally resonant, and true to the spirit of the book.
To achieve that, it is important to begin with a deep understanding of the source material: its rhythm, tone, and emotional heartbeat, before exploring how those elements can expand into a full theatrical world.
Understanding the Source Material
In the original picture book, a little old lady feels that her house is far too small. A wise old man advises her to bring her animals inside: first a hen, then a goat, then a pig, and finally a cow. The house becomes impossibly crowded, chaos builds, and when the wise old man finally tells her to send the animals back out, she realises her home feels spacious after all. The story is neat, repetitive, musical in its rhyme, and thematically focused on perspective and gratitude.
In our stage version, the core remains the same. The sequence of animals, the build to chaos, the release, and the reframed perspective are all intact, but how it unfolds changes completely. The book’s compact beats expand into songs, physical comedy, audience interaction, and puppetry. Each animal gains a personality that drives its entrance and song: the hen is clumsy and outdoorsy, the goat hates the rain, the pig is a food connoisseur, and the cow suffers from FOMO. The wise old man becomes a comic tradesman running a company called Easy Peasy Solutions, complete with a jingle and a flair for chaos, while a farmhand narrates and also voices and lead puppeteers the animals.
Our Adaptation: What We Kept and What We Grew
We kept the structure and the moral, where the little old lady discovers she had enough all along, but we expanded the theatrical world around her. The house becomes a character in its own right, pivoting, opening, and finally “breathing” larger by the end. The hybrid puppets, designed to be part animal and part farm object, reflect the story’s playful spirit.
The musical score builds on the rhythm of Julia Donaldson’s verse with original songs that reveal character and drive the story: Hens Have Their Own Houses, Goats Don’t Like Rain, A Quite Sophisticated Pig, I’m Missing Out, and the reflective All of That Happened Today. These songs help audiences follow each stage of the story both emotionally and narratively.
A reflective musical moment near the turning point allows the little old lady to voice her frustration and realisation before the joyful resolution. By the time she sends the animals back outside, her newfound appreciation for space feels earned and deeply human.
Developing the Adaptation
When I write with Barb, we usually spend a day or two thinking about what we want to retain from the book and committing initial ideas to paper. We then follow with a few days of R&D, bringing in the designers and some performers, to test the theatrical conceit and explore design ideas.
We began by mapping each page of the book to a potential scene, then expanded or condensed moments to create flow and rhythm. We treated Axel Scheffler’s illustrations as design blueprints, finding theatrical opportunities in every detail: the hen’s flapping became a chaotic chase (it is the only animal who does not actually want to enter the house), the goat’s dislike of rain inspired an umbrella routine, the pig’s appetite turned into a fabulous number about his gourmet food tastes, and the cow’s longing to join the party led to a song about FOMO.
It felt important to give each animal a clear objective and distinct personality. We also spent time reimagining the Wise Old Man. Why does he get so involved in the Little Old Lady’s desire for more space? We decided that he needed more of a motive and created a tradesperson persona for him. Although a departure from the book, he gave his interference purpose, and we had lots of fun playing with the idea that his solutions were not always logical or straightforward, and that he often thinks them up on the spot. It turned a somewhat interfering character into a comedic one, who solutions were far from easy peasy!
This two-day R&D period was about exploring the physical language of the characters and testing how the set could transform in real time. Through improvisation and play, we found the right balance of chaos and charm that we felt would capture the heart of the story. These discoveries directly informed the script. We then spent another two or three days honing it over Zoom, settling on a rehearsal draft.
By this point, the script is usually around 90% complete, but we always stay open to change once in rehearsals as the company begins to play, test ideas, and problem-solve transitions. Sometimes that means adding dialogue to manage a scene change or making cuts when something is not working.
Celebrating the Creative Team
A strong adaptation is never the work of one person; it is the sum of everyone’s creative energy in the room.
For A Squash and a Squeeze, the brilliant Barb Jungr co-adapted with me and also composed the music and wrote the lyrics. Her score is full of wit, warmth, and memorable hooks. Kate Bunce, our set and costume designer, created a charming, transforming house and a visual world that feels handcrafted and homely yet full of surprises. Maia Kirkman-Richards designed and built the puppets, ingenious hybrids of animal and farmyard object, that drive the show’s comedy and imagination. Sherry Coenen, who joined later in the process, brought it all to life with her wonderful lighting design.
Our talented cast helped shape the final show and bring the world to life: Gilbert Taylor (and later Chris Dobson) as the ever-optimistic Wise Old Man, each bringing their own unique interpretation to the role; Ruth Calkin as the exasperated yet loveable Little Old Lady; and Mark Esias as the farmhand and ensemble of animals. Their physical inventiveness, timing, and humour are the heartbeat of the show.
Reflecting on Process
Having a practitioner observe my current R&D, recently welcoming PGCE students from UCL to explore book-to-stage adaptation, and leading the TYA pathway with RCSSD students, have all prompted me to clarify my own process. How do I actually do this, and how can I share it with others?
I have found that my approach follows a fairly consistent pattern, although every story brings its own surprises. Here are the steps I tend to follow when adapting a story for the stage. These are not rigid rules but a framework that keeps me anchored while allowing space for discovery. I have also included a few suggestions that might help others approaching the same challenge.
- Read the Book
I always start by reading the story as a whole, without analysing it too much. I let myself experience it as a reader or future audience member first. What feeling does it leave me with? What did I love about it? These are the things I want to preserve on stage.
- Identify Key Themes
Next, I think about what the story is really about, beyond its plot. What themes are at its heart? Are there smaller, subtler ideas that could be brought forward and enhanced?
- Map the Plot
I break the story into beats or moments of action. Often, I begin with one page per scene, then adjust as I start to sense the rhythm of the stage version. Some moments need more time, while others are best shown through movement or song rather than dialogue.
- Study the Illustrations
The illustrations often hold the key to theatricality. I look closely at details, gestures, and moods in the artwork, as they might spark ideas for physical comedy, stage design, character traits, or even puppet design. What clues do the pictures give that cannot be found in the text?
- Make Language Choices
I decide which of the author’s original words must stay, to keep the voice authentic, and where I can add dialogue or narration to clarify action or deepen a moment. It is always a balance between honouring the text and serving the performance. When working with Julia Donaldson’s text, around 99% of her words feature in the adaptation. We only change something with approval if it truly cannot work in performance. Rather than being limiting though, this is actually quite liberating. It encourages inventiveness as we explore how existing words can sit alongside new ones and still feel seamless.
- Shape the Structure
Here, I think about form. Will the story use narration, direct address, puppetry, or song? For me, it is often a combination of all of these. I also ask how the audience fits into the world. Are they participants, helpers, or simply witnesses to the story unfolding?
- Find the Conceit or Framework
At this stage, I look for the conceit, the underlying idea or theatrical device that gives the story its shape on stage. It might be a narrator’s perspective, a child’s imaginative play, or a company of performers bringing the book to life. Once this framework is clear, everything else, the design, music, and staging, can flow from it.
- Enhance the Original
For me, adaptation is about opportunity. I do not mean improving a book, but finding where and how to expand it while remaining faithful to the original. Theatre opens up layers that text and illustration can only hint at, through design, sound, movement, lighting, and above all, the shared experience of live storytelling.
Final Thoughts
Adapting picture books for the stage is never a fixed process; it evolves with each story, team, and rehearsal room discovery. But the heart remains the same: honour the essence of the original while finding its new life in a live, shared space.
For A Squash and a Squeeze, that meant celebrating perspective, gratitude, and the joy of embracing chaos before finding calm again.
Samantha Lane Adaptations
Me… by Emma Dodd
The Singing Mermaid by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks
The Flying Bath by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts
The Slightly Annoying Elephant by David Walliams and Ross Collins
The Bed Book by Sylvia Plath, illustrated by Quentin Blake
Where the Bugaboo Lives by Sean Taylor and Neal Layton
The Smartest Giant in Town by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
There May Be a Castle by Piers Torday, illustrated by Rob Biddulph
Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
