From Tuesday (March 1) the wonderfully warm and engaging Goodnight Mister Tom will make its long overdue return to the stage of Milton Keynes Theatre.
If you are taking a ticket to the show, take along a tissue or two when you go, won't you?
You might find you get a little something in the eye, if you take our meaning.
Elisa de Grey features among the cast, working as the puppeteer for Sammy the Dog.
This stop-off on the tour will be a particularly welcome one for Elisa, as Milton Keynes is her home town.
She talked to Total MK about how her work as a master of puppets is never done...
How did you become a puppeteer - what pulled you to the job?
I am an actor as well as a puppeteer.
I trained as a dancer so I am always drawn to work that is physical and employs my whole body.
I have a habit of learning new skills on the job, puppetry was no exception. There have been hair raising moments when I have had to learn a whole new skill set whilst rehearsing an unknown play, usually within a brief four week period.
Playing Sammy is a gift of a part.
The fact that there is this constant animal presence throughout the whole play is endlessly fascinating to perform.
What training is involved - it's quite the art form isn't it?
It is a tremendously rich and technical art form.
In some countries the training takes years in which the puppeteer gets promoted very slowly.
For me my background in dance has proved invaluable.
Simple things that we take for granted as actors like eyeline, weight and breath can make or break the believability of puppet.
The puppeteer has to literally fight for the life of the puppet.
That's why when it works it is such magic.
My training has just begun really. It is something I could pursue till the end of my life and still keep learning.
How did you get the role in Goodnight Mister Tom
I auditioned. I never believed I'd get the part!
Do things ever go wrong on stage as a puppeteer?!
Of course! That's the beauty of live theatre.
No one knows what's going to happen, despite all the rehearsal preparation.
If you seize the moment when something goes 'wrong' it can bring about something wonderful and electrifying.
Audiences love it because they feel party to something unique happening. Everybody suddenly wakes up!
I will tell you a secret, I quite often trip on Sammy's feet!
It's a fabulous show, but what do you think makes Goodnight Mister Tom such a special piece of work?
Aside form it having been brilliantly adapted and staged, the original book is wonderful.
Michelle Magorian (the author) is unique in that she tackles subjects that many writers for young people would avoid.
She does it in a way that is entertaining and cathartic, but also unashamedly dark.
The tale of two lost, unlikely souls finding each other is endlessly appealing and universal.
Playing to your home crowd in MK will be great (and mean the easiest commute of the tour!), but does it increase the nerves? And have you worked MK Theatre before?
It will be a pleasure performing in the place I grew up in.
I came to the theatre with the last Mr Tom tour, and the audiences were lovely. I remember we even had a few evacuees come and see it.
When this tour draws to a close, what's next for you on the work front?
Who knows?! It's a mystery. As a performer you have to make your peace with not always knowing what's coming next!
To book tickets for Goodnight Mister Tom visit www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes
