Anthony Clark's award-winning adaptation of Albert Lamorisse's Fifties French film, The Red Balloon, follows the adventures of a lonely Parisian boy and a stray balloon which befriends him. It enjoyed a successful run at the National Theatre in 1996.

In 1953, Albert Emanuel Lamorisse was a French director, scenarist, cinematographer and producer. He is famous for his award-winning short films in the late 1940s and also for inventing the strategic board game Risk in 1957. Lamorisse's best know work is the short film The Red Balloon, for which he earned the Palma d'Or Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and an Oscar for writing the best original screenplay in 1956.