The No Such Thing As Wolves cast at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Picture: Simon Hadley
Members of the cast and creative team for No Such Thing As Wolves headed for Birmingham’s Botanical Gardens to launch the new musical adventure ahead of its debut at the Birmingham Hippodrome this Christmas.
Created by Gerard Foster and Richie Webb – two of the writers behind the multi-award-winning Horrible Histories – the venue’s festive offering will make its debut in the Hippodrome’s Patrick Studio from 6 December 2025 until 4 January 2026.
Aimed at youngsters aged three and over, No Such Thing As Wolves tells the story of Hettie Hedgehog, who is ready to hibernate – until her new friend, Sydney Squirrel, convinces her to throw a party instead. But when two mysterious guests arrive with great big ears and pointy teeth, things get ‘paws-itively wild’.
The cast includes Faye Campbell (Hamnet, All New Adventures of Peter Pan) as Hettie Hedgehog, Matthew Rutherford (The Buddy Holly Story, Mamma Mia!) as Harry Hedgehog, Beth Gourlay (Dick Whittington, Cinderella) as Sydney Squirrel, Elinor Peregrin (Pericles, Macbeth) as Woofy and Oliver Sidney (You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Oliver!) as Wiffy.
The Stage Debut Award-winning director Emily Ling Williams leads a creative team that includes set and costume director Hannah Sibai, choreographer Arielle Smith, music supervisor, arranger and orchestrator Alex Beetschen, casting director Pearson Casting, dramaturg Deirdre O’Halloran, producer James Ashfield, assistant producer Finlay Carroll, Stage One trainee producer Callie Barter, production manager Christopher Ball and deputy stage manager Jasper Mattel.
Announcing the cast and creative team, the head of New Musical Theatre at the Hippodrome, Deirdre O’Halloran, said: “We are thrilled to have assembled this stellar team of West Midlands and national talent, that will bring Richie and Gerard’s fantastic story to life in the Patrick Studio this December. Under the leadership of the wonderful Emily Ling Williams, this is sure to be an excellent production, providing our youngest audiences with plenty of laughter, fun and catchy tunes this winter! We can’t wait for you to meet Hettie Hedgehog and her friends!”
Commenting on the new musical co-creator Foster (My Parents are Aliens, The New Worst Witch) said: “Despite having spent the last 20 years happily trapped in the world of kids’ TV, it has always been an ambition of mine to write a musical for the stage. To be able to do that now, with Richie, feels like a dream come true.
“We are over the moon to be working with the amazing team at Birmingham Hippodrome and can’t wait to unleash our fabulous cast of hedgehogs, squirrels and big bad wolves on the children of Birmingham and beyond. It’s a show with a lot of humour and heart, inspired by our shared love of musicals and storytelling. We hope the audiences will laugh a lot, cry just a little, and leave with big smiles on their faces, singing and dancing along to the tunes.”
Comedy songwriting specialist and Horrible Histories’ resident composer, Webb added: “As a Midlander who first came to Birmingham Hippodrome on a school outing as a child, to now be a part of the brilliant and talented team putting on No Such Thing As Wolves is really, really special. I can’t wait for the audience to hear my latest earworms; there’ll be warbling wolves, singing squirrels and harmonising hedgehogs – hopefully, the tunes will be stuck in their heads for weeks. Sorry in advance!”
No Such Thing As Wolves is the second new musical to be developed by Birmingham Hippodrome’s in-house new musical theatre department’s My First Musical banner following on from Robyn Grant and Tim Gilvin’s crowd-pleasing hit The Jingleclaw. Directed by Anthony Lau, the story of a big-hearted young girl and a mischievous monster who hates the festive season debuted in Birmingham last Christmas.
Angela Thomas
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