A stage show based on David Walliams' novel The First Hippo on the Moon will be appearing in Cumbria next month.

The production by Les Petits will hit the stage at the newly-reopened Rosehill Theatre, in Whitehaven, on Tuesday July 11.

The explosively funny space adventure sees two big hippos, the enormously rich Hercules Waldorf-Franklin III and ingenious Shelia go head to head in a space race to be the first hippo to make it to the moon.

Adapted for the stage by acclaimed award-winning theatre company Les Petits and hot off the heals of their hugely successful Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs tour and immersive hit Adventures in Wonderland, comes a fantastical adventure featuring puppetry, music, and mayhem.

In the past the creative team at Les Petits has produced work in London at The Old Vic and at the National Theatre.

Established in 2013 as the children’s arm of critically acclaimed parent company Les Enfants Terribles, it uses well-known and loved children’s literature, to take stories from the page and bring them to life on the stage in creative and exciting ways.

The company is run by James Seager and Oliver Lansley and has become known for its striking design aesthetics, use of puppetry and song and immersive approach to storytelling.

The previous production, Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs, has now toured to venues across the UK between 2012 and 2015, won the Primary Times Award and had runs at the Underbelly at The Edinburgh Fringe and Queen Elizabeth Hall at The Southbank Centre as well as touring abroad to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

David Walliams has taken the literary world by storm and his stories are adored by children the world over. He has achieved unprecedented critical acclaim and quickly developed a reputation as a natural successor to Roald Dahl.

The First Hippo on the Moon comes to Rosehill Theatre on Tuesday July 11, at 4.30pm, and tickets are available from the venue's box office.