Directed by James Dacre (Olivier Award-nominated Our Lady Of Kibeho and Artistic Director of Royal & Derngate, Northampton) with design by Frankie Bradshaw’s ( Two Trains Running) Unexpected Twist brings to vivid life the worlds of both Shona and Oliver, as their stories twist together, unexpectedly! Liyah Summers, Nadine Rose Johnson, Alex Hardie and Kate Donnachie in Unexpected Twist. Photograph: Manuel Harlan

The Truman Show. As the unsuspecting star of a decades-long reality show, Truman Burbank does not realize that he has lived in a massive and elaborate television stage since birth. Shona and her class are studying Oliver Twist. She’s new in school and keeps finding herself in trouble – much like Oliver himself! When she’s given a new phone by a stranger, she begins to suspect there’s something fishy about the new kids she’s met… Your adoptive parents have always avoided talking about your birth mother. In the end, you find out why. Oliver Twist will continue to be studied by school kids for eons – because British education only seems to value the works of dead White men – but for it to be enjoyed by kids, it needs a make-over – and what better way to bring it into the 21st century than by turning it into a hip-hop musical?!The hero’s successfully solved the riddle or problem. Great. Time to pop open the champagne, right? The creative team also includes Sarah Stacey (Associate Director), Gurkiran Kaur (Voice Coach) and Kate Waters (Fight Director). Production Management is by Martin Thompson (Northampton) and Ben Arkell (Tour) with Lisa Lewis (Company Stage Manager – Northampton), Neil Bull (Company Stage Manager – Tour), Karen Habens (Deputy Stage Manager), Sara-Jayne Smith (Assistant Stage Manager), Charles Parry (Sound No 1) and Molly English (Head of Wardrobe) completing the team. There was no greater adapter than Shakespeare. It’s often said that he never made up a story in his life. He just adapted and adapted. I’m in good company, put it that way.” Liyah Summers, Nadine Rose Johnson, Alex Hardie and Kate Donnachie.in Unexpected Twist. Photo by Manuel Harlan

But where this production succeeds is in its sheer energy, the music and the cast – watch this space as there’s some serious young talent here. Shona and her class are studying the book, Oliver Twist. She’s the new girl in school and is finding it hard to stay out of trouble – much like Oliver himself! When she’s given a new phone by a stranger, she begins to suspect there’s something unusual about the new boys she’s met.The Incredibles. Mr. Incredible helps a mysterious benefactor destroy a violent robot only to discover that his actions have actually helped the evil Syndrome develop the perfect killing machine. In which the twist is an unexpected plot event that attempts to accomplish one objective only: make the audience gasp. Jane the Virgin, a satirical romantic comedy drama, is perhaps the queen of this sort of plot development: each episode parodies all the expletive-worthy twists and turns of a Latin telenovela. Exclamation point! But the team from The Children’s Theatre Partnership, having engaged playwright Roy Williams to adapt the book and James Dacre to direct, chose the Rosen take on Oliver Twist, published in 2018. You invent a beverage that eliminates the need for sleep, with a side effect that seems manageable at first.

The Village. A blind daughter discovers that her 19th-century “village” is entirely fake and the villagers are actually captives of a social experiment conducted by a history professor. He has recently been talking about Getting Better, his moving and deeply personal account of recovering from the Covid-19 that nearly killed him and coping with the grief of losing his 18-year-old son in 1999. Did we say that there were only 55 examples in this list? Well, how about THIS twist: here are 15 more! 10+ plot twist ideas for you Michael Rosen is the English children’s novelist, poet, and the author of 140 books. He served as Children’s Laureate from June 2007 to June 2009. He has been a TV presenter and a political columnist, and his books include Carrying the Elephant: A Memoir of Love and Loss and Uncle Billy Being Silly.A promise that CHARACTER A and CHARACTER B made when they were children is not really what they think it to be. Unexpected Twist has choreography by Olivier Award-winning Arielle Smith ( Jolly Folly), musical direction by Conrad Murray, lighting design by Rory Beaton ( Death Drop), sound design by Leigh Davies with casting by Annelie Powell CDG. The creative team also includes Sarah Stacey (Associate Director), Gurkiran Kaur (Voice Coach) and Kate Waters (Fight Director). The new student your hero befriends turns out to be their missing cat, which explains the attitude. Howl’s Moving Castle. Howl and Sophie manage to kill the Witch of the Waste — only to discover that the Witch’s fire demon, Miss Angorian, was the real villain all along.

The hero is a dragon shifter whose twin has an agenda: be fruitful and multiply, starting with the hero’s girlfriend.

Beavering away at Wallington

CHARACTER A goes on a series of blind dates without realizing that it is all being filmed for the next experimental season of The Bachelor.