The Maharajah and the Kohinoor Diamond will come to TARA Arts on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th of May suitable for 7 and 8 year olds.

A Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail production, The Maharajah and the Kohinoor Diamond tells the story of a Sikh King and the famous Kohinoor Diamond, which now sits atop the crown worn by the Queen at the State Opening of Parliament and major Royal occasions.

This thought-provoking stage dramatisation is based on the life of Duleep Singh, the last Maharajah of Lahore and King of the Sikh Empire.

At age 11, when the British took over India, Duleep Singh was deposed and sent to live in England. He was separated from his mother and The Kohinoor, the world’s largest diamond which was taken away from him to be included in the Crown Jewels.

Whilst in England, he was granted Scottish Estates by Queen Victoria. Adopted by high society, he was Christianised and educated in Scotland, but Singh continued to dream of a triumphant return to the Punjab at the head of the Sikh army. He formed alliances with Irish revolutionaries and the Russian government to no avail because Duleep Singh, the last Maharajah of the Sikh empire was left isolated and died penniless and alone in 1893.

The Maharajah and The Kohinoor Diamond tells the story of thwarted love, political intrigue and the machinations of The Empire and is suitable for schools performances and family audiences.

The company is a tight ensemble of actors, using physical and character led theatre piece, who story tell their way through playing many characters, taking voyages from the Victorian present to its past history relating to the unknown story of the Maharajah and the Kohinoor.

Fri 7th & Sat 8th May at 7:30pm
Tickets:£9.50 / £6.50 concessions
10:30am & 1:30pm, 50 mins
Address: TARA Studio, 356 Garratt Lane, London SW18 4ES
Website: http://www.tara-arts.com
Booking: 020 8333 4457

Tam Tam Theatre bring their lovely show for 2-5 year olds Little Hippo and His Magic Pen to TARA arts.

For his birthday Little Hippo received lots of beautiful presents, but it is Daddy Hippo’s present that Little Hippo prefers, a red pen. Inside the red pen are the most beautiful things in the world, but how to get them out…?

In this interactive version of the enchanting story Petit Hippo et son stylo maqique, by West African writer Alain Serge Dzotap from Cameroon, children will be invited to make their own use of Little Hippo’s pen.

‘Dramatic, delightful and -that rare thing- Children’s theatre which appeals to the very youngest, without making older and more sophisticated audience members feel left out.’ Time Out

‘Wow, this is the best show ever!!!!’ Iris, 5 years old, Balham Nursery School.

Tam Tam theatre are dedicated to creating high quality multicultural theatre for young children.

They are renowned for creating fascinating an unusual puppetry theatre to tell traditional stories. Little Hippo and His Magic Pen is the first story they have used from a modern writer.

Tam Tam Theatre have toured their imaginative children’s theatre shows to theatres and festivals in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, Singapore and Malaysia.

Sat 5th May
Tickets:£7.50, £6.50 children/concessions
10:30am & 1:30pm, 50 mins
Address: TARA Studio, 356 Garratt Lane, London SW18 4ES
Website: http://www.tara-arts.com
Booking: 020 8333 4457

Monday 31 May

Babyfest is back as part of this year’s Spark Children’s Arts Festival in Leicester and this year is even bigger and better. Bring out your babies on bank holiday Monday 31 May as De Montfort Hall hosts a day of play-centred activities for your little ones.

This year’s Babyfest will feature a Play Garden from the Pre-School Learning Alliance with all sorts of creative play. Even the littlest little ones are catered for, with special activities for newborns and babes in arms. Out in the gardens is the old favourite Messy Marquee, with paint, jelly and rice krispies galore – naturally! New for 2010 are two Music Marquees where babies can strut their tiny stuff all day long. The Chill Out Room is the place to take it easy and recharge those little batteries. There’s even baby shopping, food stalls and a tea room! Babyfest has it all. It’s baby bliss and toddler heaven. All the cool kids will be there! With a line-up including magical storytelling and fun soft play, Babyfest really is the only festival to be seen at this year!

Babyfest is at De Montfort Hall on 31st May from 11am until 4pm. Babyfest is for 0-4 years only. Wash down facilities are provided but dress for mess! Buggies will need to be parked in the foyer at the Hall in a supervised buggy park. Tickets are £10 each or £32 for a family of four. For more information or to book call 0116 233 3111.

The Spark Children’s Arts Festival returns to venues across Leicestershire between 31st May and 13th June. Visit www.sparkfestival.co.uk for more information.

1 May – 4 July, 2010

The Little Angel’s lates show opening at the start of May is The Fabulous Flutterbys. The well known chanteuse Barb Jungr is making her Little Angel debut with a brand new production for children from three years up and their families which is to be directed by Peter Glanville the Little Ange’s Artistic Director.

The Fabulous Flutterbys follows the adventures of two very different caterpillars who eat their way to success. Hamish and Grace are searching for their missing friend. As they travel through their insect sized world they encounter a host of fabulous and fascinating creatures, including blues singing slow worm Joe, a patch of mean strawberries and Adam and his army of marching ants. They have a long journey ahead of them before they can become beautiful flutterbys.

Although internationally known and acclaimed as a cabaret vocalist, Barb Jungr is a multi talented artist who works in a number of artistic disciplines. As a respected lyricist, writer and songwriter, she has worked for a number of venues and productions including The Birmingham Stage Company, Newbury Corn Exchange, Greenwich Theatre’s Musical Features and, most recently, The Little Angel.

Jungr’s newest album has just been released and she has been promoting it worldwide. As a singer, she has been called “The English Edith Piaf” and critics compare her favourably to Nina Simone and Peggy Lee. She won the prestigious 2008 Nightlife Award for Outstanding Cabaret Vocalist and Best International Artist 2003 – both awards in New York.

Address: The Little Angel Theatre, 14 Dagmar Passage, Islington, N1 2DN
Website: www.littleangeltheatre.com
Email: info@littleangeltheatre.com
Phone: 020 7226 1787

8 May 2010

On Saturday 8 May young people from across Cambridge will Takeover The Junction. The day and evening will feature workshops in Comedy, Spoken Word with Luke Wright, DJ workshop, sound and light engineering, and visual arts. The evening features a showcase of local talent, such as drama and dance, youth bands, young DJs and a headline set from Shy FX.

This event allows The Junction to engage with young audiences in a way that they never have never before, giving young people ownership of a venue and allowing them to create a youth programme that mirrors the Junction’s own programme. Thus helping to develop audiences, nurture talent and give vital information on how to meet young people’s expectations.

Check out: www.takeoverthejunction.com for more info.

31 May – 13 June, 2010

Families in Leicestershire can look forward to two weeks of festivities just for kids as The Spark Children’s Arts Festival returns from 31 May to 13 June. This year’s Spark promises to stir the region’s imagination with an exciting programme to thrill, delight and inspire children of all ages. Venues across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland will play host to a wealth of national and international theatre, music, dance, puppetry and art designed specifically for children.

Last year The Spark got families chalk drawing on the pavements at Highcross, painting the grass red at De Montfort Hall and tightrope walking in a Big Top at Regent College. For 2010 The Spark is bringing internationally acclaimed acts to Leicestershire with some visually stunning performances to mesmerize even the very young. World class companies including Oily Cart, Spoontree Productions, Horse and Bamboo, Barebones and Shona Reppe will delight young audiences during the festival.

Modern classics such as The Gruffalo at De Montfort Hall and Funny Bones at Curve, sit alongside traditional favourites including The Princess and The Pea at community venues and Treasure Island at Loughborough Town Hall. This year’s festival is more diverse than ever – don’t miss Boka Halat’s world music and their amazing Afro Ceilidh.

With engaging arts events to stimulate the whole family, The Spark offers so many opportunities to spend quality time together, go somewhere new and do something completely different. 2010 will see an innovative outdoor production of Grimm’s Fairy Tales at the Botanical Gardens and Leicester Cathedral will be hosting its first ever Spark event. The Spark programme is brimming with unique ideas for family days out with lots of ways to get stuck in and have a go – such as the Spin performance poetry workshops at The Y and a Sculpture Day at Cross Corners – plus many events are free!

The Spark is also delivering the festival right to your doorstep with performances at small community locations and larger venues alike. Many schools in the region are looking forward to Spark performances in their very own classrooms too.

For more information please visit www.sparkfestival.co.uk, call 0116 261 6893 or email admin@sparkfestival.co.uk

With a cast of 25 world class figure skaters who have collected over 250 medals between them the Imperial Ice Stars perform an astonishing version of Cinderella. The story is moved away from the pantomime and Disney film we are all used to and taken back to it’s roots. The tale of an unlucky girl who loses her mother and when he remarries she suffers at the hands of her new step-family but with guidance from a mysterious gypsy woman she makes her way to the ball and captures the heart of the town mayor’s son.

The show is fantastically choreographed from start to finish by Tony Mercer and his team, there are some stunning sequences and lots of leaps, twists and spins as you might expect but carefully combined with touches of character, emotive gestures and physical comedy. There are some wonderful sequences and special effects, including a moment where fire and ice combine and the way the skaters combine to create the clock sequences is outstanding and the search for the girl who the left shoe will fit features some brilliant one legged skating. It really is something else when the skaters fly off the ice and into the air as they are lifted on rope to spin around above the audience. Never have the ugly step sisters been played with such flair. Some fantastic performances especially from the two leads, Olga Sharutenko and Andrey Penkin and also from Cinderella’s father played by Vadim Yarkov.

The costumes too were wonderful, beautifully designed, some of them costing over £4000 to make! For the most part the scenery was created via a huge projection, I’m always a little weary of this technique but with the grandeur of the Royal Albert Hall to compete with this was a smart move and allowed you to really focus on the skating. The music specially composed for the show by Tim A Duncan and Edward James Barnwell and played by the orchestra which added an extra dimension in such a prestigious music venue.

This really is a spectacle of a show and backed up by some wonderful skating and you can see why nearly three million people across thee world have been to watch the Imperial Ice Stars. The run at the Royal Albert Hall is only short so move quickly if you want to catch it in this splendid setting.

25 February – 7 March, 2010

Starting at the end of February the TARA studio present the Shakespeare RE-MIXED Festival. This exciting festival offers contemporary interpretations of classic Shakespeare works which are accessible and have been restyled for a 21st Century audience.

The programme features local and international artists and plays host to a selection of the UK’s best storytellers. Topping the bill is a highly inventive version of Romeo and Juliet presented by Tiny Ninja Theatre, the timeless love story is to be performed by an unlikely cast of vending machine figurines. This pioneering troupe hail from New York and have not been seen in the UK since the RSC’s Complete Works Festival in 2007. Not to be missed, director Dov Weinstein inspires magic and enchantment as miniature toy figures are brought to life and transported to fair Verona.

Othello is the new imaginative reduced Shakespeare production from ArtsBeat, TARA’s dynamic, young people’s theatre group. ArtsBeat’s history of performing innovative re-tellings of classic Shakespeare ranges from Romeo and Juliet to Macbeth and Twelfth Night. This exciting production of Othello fuses contemporary storytelling with energetic performances, a passion for language and powerful narratives.

Jan Blake the storyteller in residence at the National Theatre will deliver the exciting adventure of Pericles, Shakespeare’s tale of the Prince of Tyre who is tasked with deciphering the dangerous riddle set by King Antiochus. King Lear, Shakespeare’s tale of vanity and ambition, is brought to life by fellow renowned storyteller Inno Sorsy.

Also joining in are two vibrant youth theatre groups who join forces to produce a double bill of Shakespeare: Macbeth is presented by Little Actors Youth Theatre based in Cheshire, the young cast use dynamic physical theatre to portray the play’s themes of morality, love and the supernatural; and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by South West Youth Theatre from Earlsfield which is set in a laboratory where nothing is what it seems.

Booking: 020 8333 4457 / www.tara-arts.com
Venue: TARA Studio, 356 Garratt Lane, London SW18 4ES