A new surreal comedy with music pits writer PL Travers against her own creation, Mary Poppins

The new play with music follows the very private writer PL Travers (Lottie Walker) who lives quietly in Chelsea. Out of the blue, her very own creation, Mary Poppins (Joanna Brown), suddenly appears in Travers’ study, asking difficult questions Travers would rather not answer. Rather than the Banks family, Mary Poppins has come to sort out the acerbic PL Travers herself. But Travers is a force to be reckoned with too. So who will control the narrative and win the battle of wills?

★★★★ “an exploration of the boundaries between art and life...intelligent… finds new terrain” - Arifa Akbar, The Guardian on Clare Norburn’s writing

Soundtracking the fun-filled chaos, Mary Poppins, equipped with an accordion, performs the kind of music PL Travers really wanted in the Mary Poppins film, including Edwardian songs such as Lily of Laguna arranged by acclaimed composer Steven Edis.

​Talking about the play, writer Clare Norburn said: “PL Travers was an extraordinary and private woman. The story of her clash with Walt Disney has been immortalised in the film Saving Mr Banks which gives a clear depiction of the writer, her strong sense of self and her fight for the heart of the Mary Poppins story. But there are so many other interesting elements to Travers, including: 

• Her dysfunctional relationship with her adoptive son, Camillus (who only finds out he is adopted when his twin turns up and finds him in a Chelsea bar. Camillus drops out of University, drinks a lot and ends up in prison for 6 months because of driving without a licence)

• Her broken childhood due to the early death and challenging behaviour of her alcoholic bank clerk father

• Her time as an actress in Australia and New Zealand before she discovers writing and then travels to London and never really owns her Australian background from then on

• Her tempestuous relationships with father figure men 

• And love triangles with women which tended to end with the throwing of much crockery!” 

“I have had fun pitting Travers against her creation, Mary Poppins, in a riotous battle of the wits, music and a surreal take on one of literature’s most famous heroines.”

Practically Imperfect is a collaboration project between award-winning music and theatre company The Telling and Blue Fire Theatre. The show is directed by BAFTA-nominated BBC director, Nicholas Renton (Mrs Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters, Musketeers, Lewis) and stars acclaimed actor Lottie Walker as PL Travers and actor-musician Joanna Brown as Mary Poppins​.

Age guidance: 12+

Tickets are available to book online at wlv.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873679927