Family-friendly show has music, storytelling and a dragon

Brenda Harwood

Sunday, July 26, 2026City Choir Dunedin and Little Box of Operas join forces to present a family-friendly musical show based on the legend of Saint George and the Dragon next month. 

Based on a whimsical children’s story by Kenneth Grahame and set to music by renowned English composer John Rutter, The Reluctant Dragon brings together the choir, local opera singers and musicians in a lively showcase. 

The production, to be staged at 4pm and 7.30pm on Saturday, August 8, at Otago Boys’ High School auditorium, will be led by musical director David Burchell and artistic director Jenny Burchell. 

The Reluctant Dragon will be a live musical storybook, narrated by Philip Craigie, with local opera singers Teddy Finney Waters and Joseph Kelly as the Dragon and St George respectively and young singers Max Smith and Alicia Chiruka alternating in the role of “the child”. 

City Choir Dunedin singers will take the role of the villagers and chorus, and the performances will be accompanied by members of Dunedin Youth Orchestra with Sandra Crawshaw (piano). 

Musical director David Burchell said Rutter’s The Reluctant Dragon was a lively, comedic take on a classic story that made it suitable for audiences of a broad range of ages. 

In the show’s version of the story, a dragon the size of four cart horses has appeared in a cave, and local villagers call on St George to rid them of the terrible beast. However, the dragon wants to fight St George even less than St George wants to fight him. What can they do?

The result is high-spirited fun across the stage and throughout the auditorium, with spectacular costumes and props.