London
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When ‘Paddington the Musical’ — a theatrical retelling of the British children’s classic — was announced, fans had one big question. How could Paddington Bear exist in a theater?
It is one thing to imagine a polite, talking bear who loves marmalade sandwiches in a book or to create one in a movie through the magic of CGI. It is quite another to bring it to life on stage.
But photos and videos released by the musical’s makers on its opening night Saturday have finally revealed exactly how the creative team managed to create a believable bear capable of entrancing an audience.
Two actors play the little bear from Peru — Arti Shah wears the costume and provides the physical performance while James Hameed provides the voice from offstage and controls Paddington’s facial expressions remotely.
The costume was designed by veteran costume and puppet designer Tahra Zafar and, of course, includes Paddington’s trademark blue duffel coat and red hat, as well as mechanics that enable facial expressions like blinking.
The end result promptly went viral on TikTok, with thousands of people commenting on videos showing the cast’s bows on Saturday at the Savoy Theatre in London.
“Needed to document the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life on tiktok because LOOK AT HIMMMMM! Never thought I’d cry so much at a person in a bear suit,” wrote one TikToker in a video that has more than 850,000 likes.
Another just commented, “I don’t wanna sound too dramatic but I’d die for him.”
The musical, which features music written by McFly founder Tom Fletcher, is based on the movie “Paddington,” which was in turn based on “A Bear Called Paddington,” the first book in the series written by Michael Bond.
It depicts the beginning of Paddington’s adventures in Britain, namely his arrival at Paddington Station in London, where he is found by the Brown family, wearing a tag saying “Please look after this bear. Thank you.”
“Paddington Bear is like the most iconic character Britain has ever created,” Hameed said in a video released by the musical, adding that he and Shah had been involved in creating the show for three years.
“Audiences can expect a really wonderful story that is able to tell a multitude of really complex issues but through like a really relatable lens,” he said.
“And showing the story of kindness, which the world absolutely needs right now, and showing that everybody is an equal and should be treated with respect and love,” Shah said.
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