The Iron Man. The Rock Opera
TOWNSHEND, Pete and Ted Hughes
[London] n.p.. 1993.
Description:
Signed by Pete Townshend and Ted Hughes. Pete Townshend's annotated rehearsal copy of the script for the stage production of his rock opera The Iron Man based on Ted Hughes's children's book of the same name. 48 A4 leaves printed on recto only. All but two are extensively annotated with directions ("PETE! ACTION"), observations ("Kids actually got bored in my best song!"), amendments, deletions and suggestions. Notes are in pencil, blue, black and purple ink and blue felt pen. More than one hand is at work in these notes but Townshend's is clearly evident. The footer on each leaf states that this is "REV [i.e. revision] 15 - edited original text, lyrics and revisions 12/11/93." The loose leaves are placed in a grey card wrapper on the front of which is inscribed "Pete Townshend Winter 1993" and "Ted Hughes 19 Jan 1994". Housed in a black plastic folder. Considering this is a working rehearsal script it is in good condition with a little fraying and soiling to the edges of the leaves.
Ted Hughes published The Iron Man: A Children's Story in Five Nights in 1968. Written some years earlier to comfort his children following the death of Sylvia Plath, it is a tale of regeneration, war and peace, acceptance and alienation, and the healing power of music. Townshend's musical based on Hughes's novel had a long gestation but work began seriously when the two men met through Townshend's position as an acquisitions editor at Faber and Faber, who published Hughes. The musical was released as an album in 1989 with John Lee Hooker taking the part of The Iron Man and Nina Simone The Space Dragon. Two of the songs were performed by the surviving members of The Who. The success of the album encouraged Townshend to write this stage version which was then adapted by Warner Bros to become the 1999 film The Iron Giant. It is striking how many forms Hughes's The Iron Man has taken since his first telling of the story to his children. Pete Townshend is undoubtedly one of the leading creative figures of the late twentieth century and this heavily annotated script provides a fascinating insight into the slow, painstaking process through which he brought his and Hughes's moving work to fruition.
Description:
Signed by Pete Townshend and Ted Hughes. Pete Townshend's annotated rehearsal copy of the script for the stage production of his rock opera The Iron Man based on Ted Hughes's children's book of the same name. 48 A4 leaves printed on recto only. All but two are extensively annotated with directions ("PETE! ACTION"), observations ("Kids actually got bored in my best song!"), amendments, deletions and suggestions. Notes are in pencil, blue, black and purple ink and blue felt pen. More than one hand is at work in these notes but Townshend's is clearly evident. The footer on each leaf states that this is "REV [i.e. revision] 15 - edited original text, lyrics and revisions 12/11/93." The loose leaves are placed in a grey card wrapper on the front of which is inscribed "Pete Townshend Winter 1993" and "Ted Hughes 19 Jan 1994". Housed in a black plastic folder. Considering this is a working rehearsal script it is in good condition with a little fraying and soiling to the edges of the leaves.
Ted Hughes published The Iron Man: A Children's Story in Five Nights in 1968. Written some years earlier to comfort his children following the death of Sylvia Plath, it is a tale of regeneration, war and peace, acceptance and alienation, and the healing power of music. Townshend's musical based on Hughes's novel had a long gestation but work began seriously when the two men met through Townshend's position as an acquisitions editor at Faber and Faber, who published Hughes. The musical was released as an album in 1989 with John Lee Hooker taking the part of The Iron Man and Nina Simone The Space Dragon. Two of the songs were performed by the surviving members of The Who. The success of the album encouraged Townshend to write this stage version which was then adapted by Warner Bros to become the 1999 film The Iron Giant. It is striking how many forms Hughes's The Iron Man has taken since his first telling of the story to his children. Pete Townshend is undoubtedly one of the leading creative figures of the late twentieth century and this heavily annotated script provides a fascinating insight into the slow, painstaking process through which he brought his and Hughes's moving work to fruition.