I’ve just posted my second rehearsal update for James and the Giant Peach on the Polka website, feel free to head over and check it out.
Address: Polka, London, SW19 1SB
Website: http://www.polkatheatre.com/
Box Office: 020 8543 4888
11 – 13 November, 2009
TARA are taking a new angel on the classic tale from The Arabian Nights, this vibrant version of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is performed by TARA’s young people’s theatre group, ArtsBeat. The production will take place between 11 and 13 November
A cautionary tale of greed, the perfect play to be set against the backdrop of the recession and since this is an up to date story, don’t be surprised when 36 thieves have been struck by swine flu! As if that wasn’t enough mayhem to convince you, would violence, butchery, ghosts and a love story do the trick?
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is performed in the style of Commedia dell’Arte a comedic Italian theatre form, which uses masks and physical theatre to depict a set of traditional character types. Belly Dancing and Arabic singing are also thrown into the mix, to provide the audience with a sensory extravaganza and an unbeatable night out.
Arts Beat, TARA’s young people’s theatre group has gone from strength to strength since it’s creation in 2007. Arts Beat has produced imaginative reduced Shakespeare productions of Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Macbeth and Twelfth Night which were all performed at TARA Studio. Last year Arts Beat also performed in front of thousands of people in Trafalgar square for the Beijing Olympics Torch Relay.
This project was funded by Wandsworth Council and Ideas Tap, which supports young artists aged between 16 and 25.
Wed to Fri 7.30pm
Booking: 020 8333 4457 / www.tara-arts.com
Venue: TARA Studio, 356 Garratt Lane, London SW18 4ES
I’ve just started work as the Assistant Director on a production of James and the Giant Peach at the Polka Theatre. We’ve just finished our first week and it’s been really exciting so far. I’ll be posting rehearsal updates on the Polka Theatre blog, but here’s a flavor of what we’ve been up to:
Our Musical Director Olly Fox has been teaching the cast the songs, they’re really catchy and I find myself singing them as I make breakfast in the morning.
Director Roman Stefanski has concentrated on the blocking, which means, deciding on the movement and positioning of the actors on stage and we’ve reached the end of Act 1 already which is brilliant. We’ve also managed to squeeze in a visit from David Wood who wrote the adaptation and gave us his thoughts on putting the play together.
Don’t forget to catch The Ride of Your Life which is the current show at Polka and closes on 31 October. Goldilocks and the Three Bears for younger children also opened on 21 October, it’s a great sure and I really recommend it for your really little ones.
Address: Polka, London, SW19 1SB
Website: http://www.polkatheatre.com/
Box Office: 020 8543 4888
Theatre-Rites have been producing top quality theatre for younger audiences for 14 years. Their aim is to create work which feeds the imaginations of young people and gives them a memorable theatrical experience and Mischief which has returned for a new tour certainly does that. For full tour dates please see, http://www.mischieftour.co.uk. I caught the show at the Peacock theatre as part of Sadler’s Wells Family Weekend and absolutely loved it.
Mischief is a spellbinding mix of dance, visual art, puppetry, and playful clowning. I never knew just how great foam towers could be.
For a full account of my thoughts on this great show please see my review for Broadway World.
We can’t wait to see more of Theatre-Rites!
The Unicorn theatre have just released a great little video on their website to advertise their upcoming teen season. I’m not going to tell you exactly how to find it, you’ll have to search for the Unicorns yourself. It’s great to see theatres using new techniques to attract audiences. We’re really excited about the teen season which will have shows for the over eleven and over fourteen age ranges, a dynamic that doesn’t get much in the way of it’s own theatre.
The teen season opens on 13 October and includes three shows:
Address: Unicorn Theatre, 147 Tooley Street, More London, Southwark, London, SE1 2HZ
Website: www.unicorntheatre.com
Email: admin@unicorntheatre.com
Phone: 020 7645 0560
Today sees the launch of the new Family and Children’s Theatre blog calendar. Show openings and special events will be added to the calendar so you can see what’s on and what’s coming up soon.
We’re using the Google Calendar service so if you already have a Google Calendar account then you can add our calendar and keep up to date, the Calendar ID is: e8jhjkbldkv4a402l6s1kvrdb8@group.calendar.google.com
If you are a venue, putting on a show or organising an event and would like to add it to the calendar please tell us about it using the event contact form.
We think the calendar will be a useful way of seeing what shows or events families and children can attend. We hope you find it useful, if you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch by using our contact form.
1 November 2009
Wicked Day is back for another year on 1 November for an afternoon of fun activities based around the hit West End musical Wicked.
The theme for this year’s Wicked Day is Shiz Halloween Fair and it will be held at Lawrence Hall, Victoria, from 12:00 to 18:00. Madame Morrible will have all the Shiz University students working round the Time Dragon Clock to set up a traditional school fete with games, food and competitions.
The aim of Wicked Day – apart from having fun – is to do some good in the local community. This year Wicked is collaborating with Magic 105.4 and Cash For Kids to raise funds to build a community garden in a disadvantaged area of London, and they are looking for young gardeners to help design it. The Wicked Day competition invites you to create an Oz-themed garden yourself and upload it online in advance of Wicked Day to Glinda’s Garden Gallery. Ten shortlisted gardens will be displayed at Wicked Day, while a winner and two runners up will be chosen by members of the cast. The winning design will be included in the layout of the Wicked community garden.
Although it might shock a few of our readers, I wasn’t too impressed with the musical, which is based on the Gregory Maguire novel and follows the story of the two witches from L Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, when I saw it a few months back. There were some very good vocal performances but the acting and script felt a little lackluster. However, show aside, I hope Wicked Day will prove a fun day for all the family. For an amusing look at the Wicked script have a look at the Broadway Abridged version.
For more information about Wicked Day and to enter the competition, visit www.wickedday.co.uk
28 October 2009
The Royal Albert Hall will present a free lunchtime concert for families this autumn half term on Wednesday 28 October. The performance will feature music from their in-house orchestra Albert’s Band.
The event is to be held at midday in the Café Consort and represents a new edition to the Royal Albert Hall’s regular Ignite series of free lunchtime concerts. In this special family edition, Albert’s Band will take audiences on a whirlwind musical journey around the world. An interactive event, children and their families will be encouraged to try some African drumming and other fun, educational activities.
Albert’s Band is a unique mini orchestra made up of 15 professional musicians each playing one of each instrument you would find in a standard symphony orchestra. The band specialises in educational concerts and workshops organised by the Royal Albert Hall’s education department.
No booking is necessary for the concert. Visit the Royal Albert Hall website for more information.