Here is some information about the play provided by the theatre JTB including some photos:
http://www.jtbonn.com/load/dokumente/1327.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The text is more or less a summary of the plot of "Treasure Island". Reportedly the premiere was a success. The actors of the Famous Five are children at about the age of the characters.
For more pictures you can use google.de, search terms "JTB Fünf Freunde".
You can also download some teaching material written by two theatre pedagogues and addressed to teachers, who plan to watch the play with their class:
http://www.jt-bonn.de/download/147_mate ... e_pdf.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
You get a pdf-file in German. I did not translate the whole 19 pages, because some of the contents are probably not that relevant. Here are just some excerpts:
Besides some common facts about Enid Blyton the protagonists of the Barney Mysterys are named as the children Dina, Robert, Barny and the dog (!) Stubs (german for Snubby).
Enid Blyton´s stories are said to be close to realistic, but not an image of the truth as there is no social criticism in her books. They always have a happy end. Blyton uses the same plots, characters or topics in her simple and predictable stories. Her characters are clearly defined as either good or bad by their look or their acts.
Her books have been revised in the eighties, because some terms and behavior were not contemporary any longer.
Children still like reading her books today, although plots and stories are out-dated by now. That´s probably because she used an easy language and the books reflect a childlike sense of justice. Besides that she created a world, where children can act independently from adults´ control. And that is what all children want.
[End of excerpts]
The authors of the teaching material obviously just copied this from some literature encyclopaedia for children:
http://www.rossipotti.de/inhalt/literat ... _enid.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;