MAGIC AND MAYHEM
CHALK IS no longer a classroom thing — but it takes centre stage at ArtsDepot (artsdepot. co.uk) for the school holidays. The Chit Chat Chalk Show is coming to Artsdepot, in Finchley, north London on April 15 and 16. Aimed at three- to eight-year-olds, the production is described as “a magical chalky adventure”. It tells the story of a girl called Kiko, who experiences being an outsider. Her life becomes colourful again through building new friendships.
The performance is interactive —
and chalky! Children who come to see the show will sit among the performers and help Kiko.
Young Herbert’s Horrors, a pirate adventure with a twist, comes to Artsdepot on April 14. Told by performance poet Justin Coe, it is aimed at young people aged four to nine and their families. Living on a boat should be the ideal life for a wannabe pirate, but the boat is grounded until Herbert learns to tidy his cabin, eat his greens and be more polite.
Coe says: “Deep down, the show is really about the relationship between Herbert and his Mum and the relationship between all children and their parents, about the conflict and the love between us. Just because there is an ocean of love between parents and their children, doesn’t always make for plain sailing.”
Also at Artsdepot is Elmer the Patchwork Elephant Show (April 6 to 10).
Following their appearances on Britain’s Got Talent, mind-reading duo DNA (Andrew Murray and Darren Sarsby) are on tour with their new show, We Know What You’re Thinking.
“We’re so excited to share what we’ve spent so much time working on,” say the duo. “We’re performing brand-new never-before-seen material that will make our audiences question everything they’ve seen before.” For tour information and tickets, go to dnaofficial.com
At the Radlett Centre, in Hertfordshire, children age two to six will enjoy Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, on March 19 and 20. Holly is a young fairy princess and Ben is an elf. They have fun helping Gaston the Ladybird clean up his messy cave, go on a trip into The Big World with tooth-fairy Nanny Plum and plan a surprise birthday party for King Thistle.
The Amazing Adventures of Pinocchio comes to Radlett on April 6, for age four plus. Immersion Theatre’s musical adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s children’s classic is packed with comedy and audience interaction.
Alice in Wonderland, suitable for all the family, is at Radlett on April 17. This new staging of Lewis Carroll’s book features songs and humour, with all the favourite characters.
AniMalcolm The Musical, for age seven plus, is Radlett’s production on April 28. Malcolm doesn’t like animals, yet
here he is, on the bus, heading to... a farm. What follows is a school trip like no other, where Malcolm begins to understand animals more deeply than anyone. An energetic, fun-filled musical from Story Pocket Theatre, AniMalcolm combines physical theatre, puppetry and storytelling to bring David Baddiel’s novel to the stage.
The Radlett Centre is also holding a five-day musical theatre workshop, for ages eight to 18. No previous experience is needed. The workshop runs
from April 8 to 12. Details of all the productions and the workshop can be found at radlettcentre.co.uk
Chicken Shed (chickenshed.org.uk), the inclusive children’s theatre in Cockfosters, north London has a show and a workshop for children to enjoy. The Tigon and The Liger will run from April 13 to 18 and is suitable for ages three to seven. Tyler the tigon’s dad is a tiger and his mum is a lion. The Tales from the Shed team presents a show about appreciating your differences and learning to love the skin you are in, based on the book by Keilly Swift.
The holiday workshop for ages five to 11 runs from April 8 to 12. Participants will explore and develop a wide range of performance skills through drama, dance, singing and story-making.
The Flying Bath will be at the Little Angel puppet theatre, in Islington, north London, until April 20, with a relaxed performance on April 14. When everyone has left the house in the morning, the bath toys spring into action and head off on exciting adventures in their magical flying bath, from giving a muddy piglet a shower to putting out a fire for a frightened baboon.
An ocean of love doesn’t always mean plain sailing’
A devoted couple in a world torn apart by treachery’
Adapted from the book by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts, the show is recommended for ages two to five. Also at Little Angel is Out of This
World, from March 15 to May 5. The Little Angel Space Agency (Lasa) is having an open day and you are invited. The production celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing.
Little Angel is also offering holiday fun days on the theme of Adventures in
Outer Space, from April 8 to 12, for ages six to 11. Children will explore space through puppetry, making different puppets each day. They can attend individual days, or all five. Book in person at the theatre, or on 0207 226 1787.
At the Unicorn Theatre in central
London until April 28, The Show in
Which Hopefully Nothing Happens is described as an “absurdist masterpiece of hope, humour and failure” for ages six to ten. Also at the Unicorn until April 28 is The Polar Bears Go, Go, Go!
Join two loveable but hapless polar bears on their holiday adventures. Age guide: two to five years.
At the Lyric, Hammersmith, there are several Little Lyric shows in April. On April 13, Long Nose Puppets presents Out Of The Hat! for ages two to eight. When something sparkly falls from the sky, Doris and Delilah are inspired to put on the world’s greatest magic show. On April 20, Noisy Oyster presents The Three Billy Pigs, for age three to eight and, for the same age group, on April 27, Goody & Storey and Norwich Puppet Theatre present Hansel and Gretel.
Parents, too, deserve a theatrical break — and they will be in for some compelling viewing at Southwark Playhouse, where Devil You Know Theatre Company is staging The Rubenstein
Kiss, the multi-awardwinning play by James Phillips. This is the story of the Rubensteins, a devoted Jewish couple whose Communist idealism leads to their world being torn apart by suspicion and treachery, which then echoes through the generations.
Phillips’s explosive and affecting drama, inspired by the true story of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were executed in 1953 for allegedly providing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, is a study of conspiracy, betrayal, and guilt. This new production will star Ruby Bentall as Esther Rubenstein — Bentall is perhaps best known for playing Verity in the BBC’s Poldark. Jakob Rubenstein will be played by Henry Proffit, whose stage credits include
For King and Country (Southwark Playhouse) and Kindertransport (UK tour). Directed by Joe Harmston, the production has limited season at Southwark Playhouse, from March 14 to April 13.
James Phillips says: “I’m thrilled about Joe Harmston’s new production of The Rubenstein Kiss and I can’t wait to see the exciting new generation of actors he’s assembled in these roles I love. Our current, dangerous, fraught political moment — where so many are trying again to test the limits of political idealism, where we read daily of Russian agents in this country and in the United States — seems a perfect time for him to revive the play.”
Bookings on 020 7407 0234; more details at southwarkplayhouse.co.uk