Students to stage Discworld classic in First Quad

This year’s Garden Play, produced, staged and performed by students, will be an adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s classic Discworld novel Going Postal.

In the story Moist von Lipwig, the protagonist, is a petty conman caught and sentenced to death. The patrician of Ankh Morpork offers Moist his life. But in exchange he must take on the role of Postmaster General of the city’s failing post office.

Elizabeth Farrand, the director, says she chose the Going Postal adaptation because she has seen “a lot of fun plays” in Oxford, “but no Discworld”. “It makes a relentlessly fast-paced and witty play for a summer evening,” she adds.

Elizabeth was introduced to Pratchett’s Discworld series by her father following the author’s death in 2015 and has since built a collection of his books. She describes the story of Going Postal as being about “transferrable skills, the power of a letter and the little people who make big systems work”.

Moist’s motto in the story is “always to be more ambitious”, and Elizabeth (who played the part of Sir Andrew in last year’s production of Twelfth Night) says she has taken this to heart when staging the play. She promises a raised stage, drapes, signs and lights, with the production taking up all of First Quad.

Elizabeth gives a couple of clues for what the audience can expect. “I urge everyone who’s coming to see this play to consider how many envelopes they consider appropriate to put into a theatrical production. One? Ten? Twenty? A hundred? … Depending on their night, they might also recognise a familiar face in the penultimate scene …”

Evangeline LaFond is the assistant director and Kilian King and Georgia Beresford-Jones are co-producers. Moist von Lipwig is played by Maggie Kerson.

The performance dates of Going Postal at Oriel College are 12, 13 and 14 June, and performances start at 7.15pm. Tickets are available online now.