Swirls, splodges and a fat lady singing: Quentin Blake invades the Unicorn theatre

The most famous theatrical image of all, Hamlet, rendered in Blake's inimitable style
Photograph: Image © Quentin Blake

And for my next trick ... a boy (and a ball, and a dog) balances on top of a skirting board inside the Unicorn theatre Photograph: Sunniva Molvaer/Mural © Quentin Blake

A magical transformation occurs just above a radiator. 20 theatrical characters now decorate the theatre's walls, all Blake originals Photograph: Sunniva Molvaer/Mural © Quentin Blake

A child scatters flowers along a corridor. 'I think of illustrating as a kind of theatre on the page,' Blake says Photograph: Sunniva Molvaer/Mural © Quentin Blake

Blake orginally came up with the idea of the mural to support the theatre's Play Your Part campaign, which helps underprivileged children experience the arts Photograph: Sunniva Molvaer/Mural © Quentin Blake

No entry ... A boy with an impressively decorated flag guards a corner Photograph: Sunniva Molvaer/Mural © Quentin Blake

A pair of performers twist and turn down the stairs, decorating what were previously bare white surfaces Photograph: Sunniva Molvaer/Mural © Quentin Blake

They think it's all over ... it is now Photograph: Sunniva Molvaer/Mural © Quentin Blake