Overview
What do The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Muriel's Wedding, Strictly Ballroom, Starstruck and Moulin Rouge! all have in common? Other than being ace Australian films, they've all made the leap from cinemas to theatres — and to stage musicals, to be specific. They're about to have company, too, with another Aussie gem set to follow the screen-to-stage route. This time, classic 90s and early 00s children's TV series Round the Twist is getting the musical treatment.
If you've ever, ever felt like seeing the beloved show on a stage with everyone belting out tunes about strange things happening, this dream is about to become a reality. Exactly when Round the Twist the Musical will debut, and where, and who'll star in it hasn't yet been revealed, however. Still, we're bet you're now more excited right now than a Twist family member in a lighthouse.
Airing for two seasons between 1990–93, then another two from 2000–01, Round the Twist adapted Paul Jennings' popular books into an offbeat fantasy series. If you were the right age, it was must-see TV — and now it's your next must-see musical. Here's hoping that the new stage production not only does justice to the show that absolutely every Aussie kid watched in the 90s and 00s, and more than once, but that it taps into its balance of humour, strangeness and scares. Oh, and that there's a big lighthouse involved, of course.
Obviously, we all know which song definitely has to be included — and multiple times, ideally. Yes, it's the theme tune by Andrew Duffield that you've now got stuck in your head and will keep singing to yourself for the rest of the week. (And no, we're not sorry for putting it there.)
RGM Productions is thrilled to announce development & production of ROUND THE TWIST THE MUSICAL after a successful RISE application in Australia. Based on the short stories by Paul Jennings, the cult TV series aired on the BBC in 70 countries over 30 years and is now on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/8Z2nfutBkX
— RGM Productions (@RGMProd) September 6, 2021
RGM Productions, which also has the Priscilla and Starstruck musicals to its name, is behind the all-singing, all-dancing version of Round the Twist — and announced that it is in development and production after receiving funding from the Australian Government's Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) scheme.
Writer/composer Paul Hodge, director Simon Phillips and producer Garry McQuinn will be guiding the show, with the latter advising that "RGM came on board to develop Round the Twist the Musical buoyed by the immense energy and enthusiasm of Paul Hodge and Simon Phillips" in a statement on Facebook. He continued: "we are thrilled that RISE has seen fit to award this great new Australian work with funding, enabling us to give everyone a great night in the theatre, enjoying the antics of the Twist family."
If you need something to watch until the stage production comes to the fruition, all four seasons of Round the Twist are streaming on Netflix. And you can also check out the trailer for Round the Twist's first season below:
Round the Twist the Musical is now in development — we'll update you with further details, including about its premiere season, when additional information is announced.