Terry Pratchett's Truckers, Harrogate Theatre, March 15 to March 30

From next Friday, Harrogate Theatre is embracing new technology in the world premiere stage adaptation of Terry Pratchett's adventure story Truckers, in which all the scenery will be on film.

In a co-production with the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, and Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, live stage action will combine with film effects recorded by film-maker Gary Tanner.

Pratchett's book has been adapted by Belgrade Theatre artistic director Bob Eaton for a touring production directed by Harrogate Theatre's Rob Swain, who explains how the show materialised.

"Two years ago, I was talking with Colin Blumeneau at the Bury theatre about doing something together because there was a lack of good touring work for children. We both went away and read 20 novels and independently we both chose Truckers," says Rob.

"The problem was how to stage it as we had to re-create the world of the Nomes, the four-inch high creatures who live under the floorboards of a department store.

"I'd seen a stage version of The Borrowers with giants but we came up with the idea of using film because Terry Pratchett can go from location to location with the ease of a pen and to achieve that effect we decided film was the best method. It gives it the fluidity of a novel."

Gary Tanner came recommended by Bob Eaton, having worked together on a stage version of 101 Dalmatians.

"With £100,000 camera equipment, we spent a week in December in Harrogate filming lorry wheels from the perspective of being four inches tall," says Rob. "Very kindly, the military police at Menwith Hill agreed to have two policemen filmed with the lights flashing on their squad cars. Well, it livened up a boring night shift for them."

Further filming was done in department stores and in Leeds and Birmingham from the back of Tanner's Range Rover for a chase scene, and he has since been editing the film to be in tandem with the actors' movements.

Tanner's images will be projected on three large screens.

"The actors have been working to the film as the timing has to be right. It's been a really collaborative effort and the actors have enjoyed the interaction," says Rob. "So far, rehearsals have been like a cross between normal rehearsals and working on a film set, and because the Studio space is too small, we've been rehearsing in the former Nidd Vale Motors showrooms in Westmoreland Street. It's been like working in an aircraft hangar.

"But then that's what we need in theatre: different forms of challenges. It's a journey into the unknown for me as a director, and you should always look to excite and stimulate your audiences by doing theatre in new ways - and you can do that particularly with new work."

Significantly, this hi-tech production would not have been possible if the three theatres had not linked together. "There wasn't a chance of doing it on our own at Harrogate, but with the three of us we could as we were able to apply for £80,000 in under-funding. Without that money we couldn't have done it, but now we can take Truckers out on a 12-week tour, so it'll be performed from mid-March to the end of June. That has to be the way forward for regional theatres."

Rob envisages multi-media work being embraced by more and more theatres: "Multi-media has ceased to be the provenance of the fringe. A show like this wouldn't have been possible three years ago but the technology has improved so much to enable us to do this."

Given that Truckers forms part of a trilogy, might Harrogate, Bury and Coventry look to stage all three?

"If it goes well, who knows, except that a certain Mr Spielberg has now bought the film rights," Rob says. "Maybe we'd have to negotiate with him - and maybe he could direct the next film sequences for us!"

Terry Pratchett's Truckers, Harrogate Theatre, March 15 to March 30. Box office: 01423 502116.

Updated: 09:23 Friday, March 08, 2002