Journal

Quentin Blake’s Mrs Armitage On Wheels – Edinburgh Fringe Premiere

Cast announced for this adaptation of the famed illustrator’s hilarious story, one of a series from BBC’s Quentin Blake’s Box of Treasures

by

Joanna Sturrock

ON

Performed by Lottie Johnson as Mrs Armitage with Duncan Taylor as Breakspear and Christopher Dobson as ensemble. Directed and adapted by Samantha Lane.

“Endlessly inventive adaptation, brimming with Puppetry magic, music and mayhem” Time Well Spent Magazine, February 2026

  • Gordon Aikman Theatre, Assembly George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LH
  • 6 – 30 Aug 2026 (not 12, 17 or 24) | 11:00 (50 mins) | 3+
  • Tickets are now on sale from this link

This brand-new musical adaptation of the award-winning BBC animated series Quentin Blake’s Box Of Treasures has announced the cast for its Edinburgh Fringe premiere. 

The cast are announced as: Lottie Johnson as Mrs Armitage with Duncan Taylor as Breakspear and Christopher Dobson as ensemble. 

The Edinburgh Fringe dates follow a hugely successful run at London’s Southbank Centre. Directed and adapted by Samantha Lane, artistic director of the award-winning Little Angel Theatre, this delightful production features a treasure trove of clever puppetry and original live music.

Celebrating the power of imagination and the importance of community, Mrs Armitage is a brilliant and eccentric inventor whose wild and wonderful creations are always remarkably useful. When she and her faithful dog Breakspear set off on a quiet bike ride to visit cousin Angela, she can’t stop thinking of ways to improve her bike. But after adding horns, snack trays, umbrellas, a dog bed, even a sail, will she ever get there?

The full creative team includes Jessie Maryon Davies (Music and Lyrics) Ryan Dawson Laight (Set and Costume Design), Maia Kirkman-Richards (Puppetry Design and Direction) and Ian Oakley (Sound Designer). 

Quentin Blake’s Mrs Armitage On Wheels – Live On Stage has been developed by Esk and Roast Productions in association with Eagle Eye and Little Angel Theatre and based on the BBC animated series ‘Quentin Blake’s Box of Treasures‘ available on BBC iPlayer

Samantha Lane, who has directed and adapted Quentin Blake’s Mrs Armitage on Wheels, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to have the honour of adapting and directing Mrs Armitage on Wheels for the stage. It’s such a joyful, imaginative story – full of heart, humour, and the boundless possibilities of creativity. Mrs Armitage’s world is wonderfully eccentric yet deeply human, and I can’t wait for Edinburgh families to experience her spirit of inventiveness and togetherness in our production that celebrates her generosity, resilience, and sheer love of making marvellous things.”