Big belly, wavy fur and a nose for trouble: we exclusively reveal the new-look Paddington | Musicals
Paddington stands within touching distance. When he turns, his feathers are ruffled, his neatly buttoned nose sniffs the air, and his eyes are soft with a smile. Design details of the bear for years Paddington the MusicalThe film, directed by Luke Sheppard, was kept top secret. Now here he is, in his blue sports jacket and red hat. A marvel of silent theatre. “What we did has never been done before,” says producer Sonia Friedman.
Standing about 1.2 meters (just under 4 ft) tall, the bear is nicely rounded, with a full belly and sloping shoulders. He is not an exact copy of the Paddingtons we see in pictures or movies, but something new. His shaggy, caramel fur has a soft wave and his white nose is dotted with a brown nose, ideal for sniffing out trouble. Around his neck is a tag tied to an old piece of rope, asking for someone to look after him.
When producer friend Eliza Lumley first came up with the idea of making Michael Bond’s Paddington musical in 2016, the first question that came to mind was how to make the bear. “We wanted to see if it was possible to have Paddington on stage,” says Friedman, who joined the team two years ago. “Just Paddington.” Lumley says they tested every idea and the puppetry was “amazing” but “a little weird.” The presence of puppeteers also complicated this desire for the bear to stand alone on stage, lost in a train station and waiting to be found.
The innovative response to this stage adaptation, written by Jessica Swale and with music by Tom Fletcher, began to emerge when creature effects artist and Star Wars Chewbacca designer Neal Scanlan pointed them to Tahra Zafar. Zafar, who has created creatures for Star Wars, English National Opera and created that pesky monkey for PG Tips, now boasts the impossibly beautiful title of “Paddington Bear designer”.
“We looked at the books, Peggy Fortnum’s beautiful illustrations, and all the different versions of Paddington over the years,” says Zafar. The influence of Fortnum’s designs is particularly evident; Where the face of Paddington leans towards realism, Zafar’s design has Fortnum’s broad, teddy bear-like quality. Zafar describes the technological routes they explored as “pretty flashy,” but they kept returning to simpler ideas that reflected the bear’s naivety. “We wanted to create something you would respond to with your heart.” The result is part toy, part reality. Part technology, part costume, part magic.
The heavily padded bear costume is then brought to life with the skill and partnership of two artists: Arti Shah and James Hameed. Over years of workshops, the duo created a unique synchronicity that makes us believe we are watching a Peruvian bear walking, talking, singing and occasionally dancing. While Shah’s experience as a creature artist on the film has prepared him physically to play the bear, Hameed also provides the voice-over, and the twin nature of the role is never hidden from the audience. A more apt description of Hameed’s role was given at a recent workshop when a child approached Hameed and said: “You are the soul of Paddington.”
Hameed also remotely puppeteers Paddington’s facial expressions using a control panel. This means that he is responsible for the bear’s infamous harsh stare. These controls were initially a separate role, but through workshops they found that the instinctive relationship between the pair reduced any delays in Paddington’s reactions. Hameed, an avid gamer, was thrilled.
Performing physically inside a bear requires tremendous strength, endurance and skill. “I sat in the sauna in my blacks every day for a week before we started rehearsals,” says Shah. “It was a way to train my mind. The bear isn’t as hot as a sauna.” He has experience with such unusual performance constraints. In the movie Attack the Block, he had to run on all fours wearing a costume that weighed half his body weight and had arm extensions. “This one is a lot lighter,” he laughs.
While eight shows a week create new physical challenges (actors Abbie Purvis and Ali Sarebani are alternative Paddington performers), theater also brings new joys; This musical will be the Shah’s first greeting experience. “It didn’t sink in,” he says. “I’m so humbled and excited to do this, especially being a short Asian woman. To show my little boy who was diagnosed with my condition that anything is possible.” His son, a huge fan of the books and movies, is often seen singing Fletcher’s songs from the series. “I’m doing this for him,” says Shah.
For most of the team, the bear has an emotional resonance that goes beyond nostalgia for bedtime stories. “Paddington means something different to everyone,” says Hameed. “My father came from Pakistan in the 70s looking for a home. To my English mother, Paddington was etiquette, tea and marmalade sandwiches. For my father, it was a visualization of his own story.”
When Bond first wrote A Bear Called Paddington in 1958, an evacuee’s tag around the character’s neck read: “Please take care of this bear.” The team behind Paddington the Musical are clearly taking this role seriously. Zafar mentions a tag his team sewed under one of Paddington’s paws: “Made in Peru.”
“It’s pretty subtle,” says Zafar. “I don’t think anyone will see it, but we know it’s there.” This is a sign of the care and attention that went into the making of this bear. “I think when you really love doing something, that love transfers into what you create. I hope you see that in Paddington, too. All that love on stage.”
