This year marks 100 years since the birth of beloved illustrator and writer Judith Kerr and, with her tales of Mog the Forgetful Cat coming to our stage this July, we take a look at how Mog first came to be.
Author The Old Vic
Published 13/06/2023
Judith Kerr was born to a German-Jewish family who fled Germany two days before Hitler came to power in 1933. Her children’s novel When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit tells the story of life as a refugee during World War II. Having settled in England, Kerr said she always longed for a family cat, having never had one as a child, and eventually got a cat called Mog when her own children were growing up.
Following what is likely Kerr’s most well-known book, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, her first book about Mog, Mog the Forgetful Cat, was published in 1970, and she went on to write another 15 books about the mischievous cat.
The Mog stories, full of forgetfulness and mishaps, are also about bravery, adventures and family, and the cat has captured the hearts of young readers for 43 years and continues to delight new readers as they discover her today.
Now, The Wardrobe Ensemble – known for their incredibly creative children’s shows including The Star Seekers at the National Theatre – have adapted the tales of Mog for the stage so a new generation of children can fall in love with the forgetful feline.
An Old Vic, Royal & Derngate, Northampton and The Wardrobe Ensemble production.