Jack & The Beanstalk

An enchanting children's musical play
adaptation of the classic fairy tale.
  • Singapore Repertory Theatre is Singapore’s premiere theatre company. In 2011 John was commissioned as the scriptwriter, lyricist and director for an all new adaptation of the classic fairy tale Jack & The Beanstalk for SRT’s The Little Company. The adapted version of the story incorporated important themes about friendship and responsibility. Staged at the DBS Theatre in Singapore, the musical adaptation featured an eclectic mix of great songs composed by Ruth Ling, and a colourful storybook style production design by Graeme Haddon.

  • “Adapting the story was quite a challenge because the original fairy tale has some dark themes and a rather bleak ending (for the giant anyway)… and Jack is not the most likeable of characters,” said the show’s writer John Rowe. “I focussed on making a more altruistic version of the Jack character and creating a more transformative story for him that could serve as inspiration to the young audience. And our giant doesn’t meet the same grizzly fate as the one in the original tale, so the story becomes transformative for him too. So, there were lots of new themes that really set it apart from the classic fairy tale, and gave us lots of room to make a more colourful, fun and up-beat story for a modern day audience.”

Behind the Scenes

Cast & Crew photo.
Some concepts from the ​production design by Graeme Haddon. 
Show program.

Music

The songs for the show were composed by the talented Singaporean songwriter and artist Ruth Ling, with lyrics by John Rowe. An eclectic mix of musical colours and styles suited the multi colourful design and the multi-faceted story. Songs from the production were later recorded and released on a compilation CD called "The Little Company Show Songs (Vol 2)" produced by Singapore Repertory Theatre.

Credits

Director/Playwright/Lyricist - John Rowe
Production Designer/ Associate Director - Graeme Haddon
Composer and Arranger - Ruth Ling
Lighting Designer - Suven Chan
Sound Designer - Mike Walker
​Choreographer - Filomar Tario
"Theatre can bring a sense of wonder and magic to children and adults alike."
​John Rowe