The Rebel Alliance Presents 'The Valentina' – An Illustrated Audiobook Written & Directed By Anders Falstie-Jensen

Reach for the stars. Always!

The Rebel Alliance have adapted their award-winning family play The Valentina into an illustrated audiobook, designed to be enjoyed online as part of We the Young, a brand new Auckland Live arts festival celebrating young people and their loved ones.

WINNER - Plays For The Young: 8 to 12 year-old category

The Valentina is the wild story of 8-year-old Ellen, who with the help of her awesome parents paints a spaceship on her bedroom ceiling. As darkness falls and the moon rises, the ship comes to life. Joining Ellen on board are new friends and trusted crew members Yuri Gagarin, Neil Armstong, Laika the space dog, and the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova.

It’s great! And Nuts! Like watching From Dusk till Dawn for the first time! –

Dad bringing his child to The Valentina

This unique adaptation of the stage play features 100+ original drawings created by theatre set designer legend, John Verryt who makes his children’s books illustrator debut, an epic soundscape by Sean Lynch and the voices of the original cast Ross McCormack, Bronwyn Turei, Wesley Dowdell, Talia Pua & Kevin Keys.

I am not the target audience for this show. Despite this, I really enjoyed The Valentina, striking the tricky balance between absolutely playing to the audience (verging on pantomime occasionally) and asking a bit more of them than many shows might. There are moments of unexpected poignancy, and even terror peppered throughout, that seem well out of this genre’s usual range.

– Sam Brooks, Dramatic Pause (review of the original Auckland Arts Festival production)

Written and directed by award-winning playwright Anders Falstie-Jensen, The Valentina is the inevitable outcome of an upbringing on a hefty diet of 80s science fiction and Danish children’s literature. Says Falstie-Jensen: “Alongside the sci-fi geeky part of me, my other references were a trippy jazzy Danish kids movie called Benny’s Bathtub as well as WALL-E, Toy Story 3 and Up! I love those Pixar movies because they all deal with adult and dark themes in such beautiful and elegant ways that means kids and adults enjoy them equally. That’s the kind of work I love and which I aimed to create with The Valentina.

The Rebel Alliance was founded in 2006 and is rapidly hurling towards its 20th anniversary. How they have survived so far without any regular funding on strategic plan whatsoever is anybody’s guess. Yet somehow, they’ve managed to create 11 works of which 8 have been New Zealand premieres and toured the length of Aotearoa as well as internationally to Sweden, Denmark and Hong Kong. Last week they pitched their work at APAX in Darwin. Where will The Rebel Alliance go next?!?

The Valentina was commissioned by Auckland Live as a world premiere for Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival 2024.

(Created with the support of Auckland Council)

© Scoop Media