The Big Imaginations festival will celebrate and showcase the highest quality theatre for children and families in over 20 venues across the North West.
The Atkinson, Lord Street, Southport PR8 1DB
The Big Imaginations Festival is back and will be showcasing the best in children and family theatre for 22 days this autumn. Building on the success of the 2013 festival, this year promises to be bigger and even more brilliant than before.
The festival takes place from the 19 October – 5 November at 21 venues across the North West: from Liverpool’s Royal Philharmonic Hall to libraries, village halls and grand auditoriums. Spread across the key regions Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire, children and families are invited to choose from 9 performances and experience the wonderful magic of children’s theatre.
The festival is the only one of its kind to take place in the North West and in 2013 attracted national interest, with CBeebies’ star Ben Faulks (Mr Bloom’s Nursery) and CBBC actress Victoria Cook (DNN, Wave) launching the festival.
This year The Atkinson in Southport will take part by programming Handa’s Surprise from Little Angel Theatre Company, Grannylocks / The Monstrous Duckling, Zombie-rella / Blood-red Hood by Joseph Coelho, Body of Light from Darren Pritchard and Happily Ever After from Action Transport.
The festival will officially launch at the award-winning Just So Festival 2017 on Saturday 19 August.
Children and their families can expect two weeks of brilliant children’s theatre beyond their wildest dreams. With an incredible mix of regional, national and international artists and performers, the Big Imaginations festival promises fantastic fun for families, transporting them to lands full of fairy tales (good and bad), amazing light shows, music from around the world, beautiful puppetry and ancient fables.
Immerse yourself in the best in children’s theatre from around the world. Polka Theatre will perform Child of the Divide, a poignant and compelling story of friendship, belonging, love and loss that takes place just after the Partition of India in newly-formed Pakistan.
For dance lovers, Darren Pritchard’s Body of Light weaves its magic through dance, presenting a seamless landscape of flowing images, where graphics bend effortlessly around the arcs of a live dancer, using Kinect technology.
Action Transport Theatre will perform their critically-acclaimed fairy tale Happily Ever After – a story about a Prince who isn’t impressed with any of the princesses his mother wants him to marry, until one day a princess arrives accompanied by her brother…
There’s something for tinier tots too! Little Angel Theatre mix puppetry, live music and song in Handa’s Surprise, a vibrant story of a little girl in Kenya taking different fruits past a few mischievous animals to surprise her best friend. Come and share in the magical tangerine surprise!
Award-winning performance poet Joseph Coelho freshens up familiar children’s stories in his Fairy tales Gone Bad, with two performances designed for children of different ages, Grannylocks / The Monstrous Duckling is aimed especially for children aged 3+ whilst Zombie-rella / Blood Red Hood is aimed at children aged 6+. Both performances use Joseph’s unique storytelling style to unwind the true stories behind the happily-ever-afters which are maybe not as charming as you remember.
Tales of Birbal by Mashi Theatre takes audiences on journeys around the world, using puppetry and humour to share the glorious richness and zest of traditional fables that have been loved across the Indian sub-continent for generations.
Last (but certainly not least) Adriano Adewale’s Catapluf’s Musical Journey will carry audiences on the wings of harmony and rhythm across the globe, creating a wonderful adventure where, in the hands of a team of talented musicians, everything is an instrument, from saxophones to saucepans!
The Big Imaginations Festival is the result of a year-round programme of children’s theatre in venues across the North West. Established in 2012, the network of venues has reached thousands of children and their families, inspiring them with the wonder of children’s theatre.
Liz O’Neill, CEO and Artistic Director of Z-arts – who lead the Big Imaginations network – says: “We’re incredibly excited to work with such inspiring artists and performers. The Big Imaginations Festival 2017 is going to be an unforgettable celebration of the best in theatre for children and families and we can’t wait to share it with audiences from the North West and beyond.”
Posted on 8 August 2017 under General news
