Arthur Ransome's classic tale of the Walker kids and their energetic imaginations has been given a musical flavour by composer Helen Edmundson with music and lyrics by Neil Hannon.

With The Divine Comedy, The Duckworth-Lewis Method and as a solo artist, Neil Hannon's music has always had theatrical accents and, in the minds of adventuring children, it seems to have found a perfect home.

The English Lake District is transformed to a land of savages, pirates and swashbuckling adventure with Walker children John, Susan, Titty (yes, Titty) and Roger at the helm of dinghy The Swallow. The 'Amazons' come in the form of their mother and baby sister as well as Nancy and Peggy Blackett.

Set in the school holidays of August 1929, the children meet on a Lake District island, which they call Wild Cat Island, and have a series of adventures, involving sailing, camping, fishing, exploration and piracy. Swallows and Amazons is a tale of the unconfined, unspoiled imagination of young children with one of the world's finest landscapes as their playground; long summer evenings of endless possibility played-out in England's green fields.

Having premiered to critical acclaim at the Bristol Old Vic in 2010, the action-packed family musical is directed by Tom Morris, co-director of the National Theatre's Tony Award-winning smash hit War Horse.

Swallows and Amazons is at London's Vaudeville Theatre from 15th December 2011 until 14th January 2012. We have tickets for all performances available now, priced from £26 (£13 concessions) to £61 for the best stalls.