Whistle Down The Wind is based on the novel by Mary Hayley Bell and the film produced by Richard Attenborough and directed by Bryan Forbes. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman, together with Patricia Knop and Gale Edwards (co-book writers with Andrew Lloyd Webber) have taken the original story and reset it in Louisiana in 1959.

Whistle Down The Wind follows the fortunes of a fugitive caught between the prejudice of adults and the innocence of the young. Set in America's Deep South in the late fifties, this evocative new musical fuses epic storytelling with compelling characters to create an unforgettable theatrical experience.

Whistle Down The Wind revolves around the time and place where the word teenager was invented. Swallow, struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother, discovers a mysterious stranger whom she believes is Jesus. In a town where a miracle is long overdue, the children fight to protect him from an adult world determined to find an escaped convict hiding in their midst. As fantasy and reality collide, Swallow is torn between the two and begins to discover who she is and where she is going... Andrew Lloyd Webber's emotive score combines hauntingly beautiful love songs and explosive rock music with lyrics by acclaimed rock'n'roll songwriter Jim Steinman. The score contrasts the relentless influence of the modern world with the traditional values of the old days - something which the community at the heart of Whistle Down The Wind yearns to return to.