Film great Dawn French joins cast of Shaun Tan’s exciting animation series set in Western Australia, Tales From Outer Suburbia
Legendary British actress, comedian and writer Dawn French has joined the cast of the much-anticipated television adaptation of Shaun Tan’s bestselling illustrated anthology Tales From Outer Suburbia, a uniquely Western Australian take on growing up in Perth.
Tan’s much-loved, illustrated collection of short stories, Tales From Outer Suburbia, has been adapted into a 10 x 22-minute animated series.
It will make its world premiere this week at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.
The Tales from Outer Suburbia animated series for the ABC is produced by Highly Spirited and Flying Bark Productions in association with WA production company, Siamese. Siamese is undertaking production in WA, Flying Bark in NSW.
Director Noel Cleary leads a stunning recreation of the world established in the internationally acclaimed novel, with a cutting-edge CGI animation and handcrafted stop-motion look and feel. Tan, an Academy Award-winning writer/artist/filmmaker, oversees the series as Creative Director.
Based on Tan’s memories of growing up in the northern suburbs of Perth, the series begins when ‘almost 13-year-old’ Klara and her six-year-old brother Pim move to Outer Suburbia with their newly single mother Lucy. The siblings’ summer holiday turns into a series of unexpected and surreal adventures, with the family encountering weird and miraculous phenomena as they adapt to their new reality.
Dawn French, best known for some of the UK’s biggest comedy hits including the BBC sketch comedy series French and Saunders, and as the title role in The Vicar of Dibley, voices Klara and Pim’s Grandma.
Dawn French said: “Grandma is amazing. She’s courageous and adventurous, she’s quite chaotic, she’s a bit bonkers. What drew me to the character, and the whole project, is it’s quite possibly the strangest thing I’ve ever read! It’s very surreal – you understand it on a visceral level but you also don’t understand it, so you’re drawn in to try and make sense of slightly surreal things.
“This is a series about big, big themes: themes of rejection, forgiveness, absence, loss, grief, judgment, friendships. I think it’s absolutely crucial that we make good quality shows for children and for families because it’s a shared experience when you watch something together. That’s when you bond as a family. That’s when you work out who you are, and you start to process what you think about the world. My happiest memories as a child are of things that we all watch together. To make something as brilliant and beautiful as this is crucial.”
Producers Sophie Byrne, Highly Spirited and Alexia Gates-Foale, Flying Bark Productions said: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome the incomparable Dawn French to Tales From Outer Suburbia. Her impeccable comedic timing and natural warmth bring a genuine richness and charm to the character of Grandma. Dawn embodies the perfect blend of wit and wonder needed to portray such an enigmatic figure, and we know both children and their parents – many of whom already adore her from her remarkable career – will fall in love with her all over again.”
Creative Director Shaun Tan said: “Dawn brings a unique warmth, confidence and levity to a character that audiences really needed to trust during difficult moments, and I can’t imagine a better performance. She is the anchor of reassurance in a sea of animated weirdness, the hand you want to hold tight as the tide fills the room.”
Siamese Producer/Managing Director Francesca Hope said: “Tales From Outer Suburbia has been a thrilling creative journey for our WA team, with Dawn French delivering a standout performance as Grandma. We’re genuinely excited for audiences to experience the episode ‘Distant Rain’ at Annecy, one of the world’s most prestigious stages for animation.”
Screenwest Chief Executive Officer Rikki Lea Bestall said: “Screenwest is beyond proud to support this quintessentially Western Australian take on growing up in the ‘burbs of Perth – and what a coup to have Dawn French amongst the cast. Shaun Tan is an incredibly talented creative whose works resonate with young and old. We cannot wait to see this series on screen, and congratulate everyone involved for Tales From Outer Suburbia being selected to make its world premiere at Annecy.”
ABC Acting Head of Children & Family Mary-Ellen Mullane said: “This is a remarkable project from an extraordinary team, to which we have now added the wonderful, rich voice talent of Dawn French. What a brilliant piece of casting by the team. We can’t wait to bring this unique series to Australian audiences on ABC.”
Alongside Dawn French, Tales From Outer Suburbia features a cast of acclaimed Australian actors and exciting newcomers. Leading the Australian cast is Geraldine Hakewell (Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, Wakefield, Wanted) as mum Lucy, while Klara and Pim are played by talented newcomers Brooklyn Davies as Klara and Felix Oliver Vergés as Pim in their first television drama roles.
The cast also includes Michael Theo (Austin, Love on the Spectrum), Shabana Azeez (The Pitt, Lesbian Space Princess, Birdeater), Andrea Solonge (Prosper, Class of ’07) and Tony Nikolakopoulos (The Wog Boy, The Wannabes).
Episode 3 of Tales From Outer Suburbia ‘Distant Rain’ will screen at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival from 8 – 14 June 2025. This is the first time any of the series will be seen publicly.
The series will air on the ABC in Australia, distributed by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation.
Production credits: Tales From Outer Suburbia for the ABC and BYUtv is a Highly Spirited and Flying Bark Productions production in association with WA production company, Siamese. Major production investment from Screen Australia and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation in association with the ABC and BYUtv. Production is taking place at Siamese in WA and at Flying Bark in NSW. Financed with support from Screenwest and Lotterywest. International sales by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation. Adapted from Shaun Tan’s multi-award-winning book Tales From Outer Suburbia.
Directed by Noel Cleary. Creative Director: Shaun Tan. Producers: Sophie Byrne and Alexia Gates-Foale. Co-producer: Francesca Hope. Executive Producers: Barbara Stephen, Bernadette O’Mahony, Andra Johnson Duke, Francesca Hope, Jeff Simpson, Julia Adams, Karen Vermeulen, Libbie Doherty.
