It's been quite a long and unusual journey for A Monster Calls, from the page to the stage.

Now the show about a grief, loss at a young age, and a talking tree with attitude is on its way to Malvern Theatres.

But what can an audience expect, and what should an audience know?

A spokesman said: "Patrick Ness’s young adult book was published in 2011, with illustrations by Jim Kay; Ness won the prestigious Carnegie medal, and Kay won the Greenaway award. It was made into a movie starring Liam Neeson in 2017, and then adapted for the stage by Sally Cookson at the Old Vic in London in 2018. Now, that production is being revived for a country-wide tour, with an all-new cast.

"A Monster Calls is about Conor, a 13-year-old boy who knows his mother is seriously ill – and whose fear grows when no-one will really talk to him about it. Then late one night, a monster pays him a visit: the enormous, ancient yew tree in his garden comes ferociously to life, and begins to tell Conor a series of harsh fables, that ultimately help him face the truth of his situation."

The spokesman added: "As a meditation on our fear of loss, our inability to discuss death, and on the power of storytelling to help us make sense of the world, Ness’s book struck an almighty chord. It became a favourite with readers far beyond the young adult bracket, and the play achieved glowing reviews – and plenty of warnings about packing hankies – when it burst vividly onto the stage."

But A Monster Calls really starts before even Ness: he inherited Conor from fellow author, Siobhan Dowd, who had outlined the plot to her agent – but tragically she died of breast cancer before she was able to write it.

“Siobhan wrote all her books knowing that her breast cancer was terminal; this was going to be her next book, but she passed away sooner than expected,” recalls Ness. “My editor, Denise Johnstone-Burt, didn’t want the idea to disappear.”

The show comes to Malvern Theatres from April 15 to April 18.