Since it first hatched in 1993 Stiles & Drewe’s musical Honk! has winged its way around the world in over 3000 productions and in many different languages.

“...Imagine the colour and wit of Disney’s Jungle Book, mixed with the vivacity of ‘40s Hollywood musicals, exuberantly staged, and you still only have some idea of how stonkingly brilliant this Christmas treat is...” 
(Time Out on the 2000 National Theatre production)

A world-wide stage sensation that has been seen by over 5 million people. Honk has won multiple awards including the 2000 Olivier Award for Best Musical (beating the Lion King and Mamma Mia for the prize).

Based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling", “Honk!” tells the story of an odd looking baby duck, Ugly, and his quest to find his mother.

Soon after Ugly is born, he is seduced away by a wily Cat who wants to eat Ugly for dinner. Eventually, Ugly manages to escape but has no idea how to return home.

Along his way, he encounters a beautiful swan, Penny, tangled in a fishing line.

After saving her, the two birds fall in love. However, she must return to her flock and fly south for the winter. Eventually, Ugly’s mother finds him frozen in snow.

Luckily, her warm tears manage to thaw him out and he comes back to life – as a handsome swan! Soon, Ugly is reunited with Penny and two swans decide to live the rest of their days in the same pond as Ugly’s loyal mother.

The show opened in 1993, with great success, at the Watermill with the title THE UGLY DUCKLING or THE AESTHETICALLY-CHALLENGED FARMYARD FOWL, directed by Steven Dexter and designed by Francis O’Connor – the same team who were responsible for the Christmas 2007 version of the show.  

In 1997 the fabulous Julia McKenzie came on board as director and persuaded Sir Alan Ayckbourn to take the show at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough for Christmas. Together with designer Peter McKintosh and choreographer Aletta Collins, Julia created a blue print for the show, under its new title HONK!
 
HONK’s big break came in 1999 when Sir Trevor Nunn invited Julia’s production onto the Olivier stage at the Royal National Theatre.

The show was expanded and, to everyone’s amazement, ourselves included, in February 2000 HONK! won the Olivier for Best New Musical beating both The Lion King and Mamma Mia. 

Since then the show has been seen in over 3000 different productions around the world, winning many awards along the way.

Anthony has personally directed it in South Africa, Chicago, Tokyo and Singapore, and has seen the show in Iceland, Denmark, Netherlands, Israel and Finland.

It has also been produced in Hawaii, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Ireland, Australia. New Zealand, and Thailand as well as countless productions in the UK and USA.”

Spring has come to the duckyard. Drake, the Mallard Duck, and his long suffering partner, Ida, await the birth of a new brood, but the clutch seems to contain one inordinately large egg this year.

Sure enough, it cracks open to reveal an ugly chick nothing like his siblings, who makes a strange honk sound instead of the expected quack!.

Ida warms to him, though, and takes him out for the first swim on the lake, finding him to be a prodigious swimmer.

The other farmyard fowl, however ridicule him, driving him into the eager arms of the Tom Cat, who invites him back to the "Kitty Kat Snack Shack" for lunch.

Ugly escapes by the skin of his teeth, but with night falling he becomes lost. The concerned Ida insists that Drake and the others launch a search.

The next day, Ugly finds himself on open marshland in the middle of a duck shoot.

He is taken under the wing of Greylag, a pompous military goose, his well-meaning wife Dot, and a comical troupe of geese.

Though the Cat appears and again tries subterfuge to get a hold of Ugly, his plans are once again thwarted.

Meanwhile, Ida has left Drake in charge of the nest, and has gone in search of her missing boy.

Ugly finds a small cottage, home to a domesticated hen named Lowbutt and her feline companion, Queenie.

The Cat appears yet again, but distracted by Queenie's charms he once again allows Ugly to escape.

Back at the duckyard, Drake is learning valuable parenting skills, even as Ida's search becomes more frantic.

With the onset of freezing winter, Ugly's prospects are bleak but meeting a beautiful young swan named Penny begins to give him hope.

Declining her invitation to join the swan family's migration.

Ugly resumes his journey to find his mother.

Befriended by an ebullient bullfrog and his froglets, Ugly is cheered considerably, until he is caught in a hunter's net.

Rescued by the ever resourceful Cat, who is still hoping to dine on the growing bird, both are soon caught in a raging blizzard, and frozen into snow creatures.

With the onset of spring, the swans and Ida arrive just in the nick of time, paving the way for a triumphant trip to the farmyard.

Buy the 1998 UK Scarborough Cast Recording

Buy the 2001 USA Music Theatre of Wichita Cast Recording