Imaginate Festival preview: Making theatre child’s play

Published on 08/05/2012 23:56

IMAGINATE Festival is a theatre programme like few others, where children and young people are its primary audience.

The largest children’s festival theatre event in the UK, Imaginate offers a diverse range of shows for young people and their families to get involved in - here are some of our festival picks.

Mikey and Addie (Traverse Theatre, 11-14 May)

Age: 9+ years

Mikey and Addie is a story about two young children who, despite leading separate lives, are bound together by parallel problems - Mikey is a 10-year-old boy whose mother has a secret known to everyone except him, while Addie is a girl whose belief in always telling the truth is severely tested.

Cloud Man (Church Hill Theatre, 8-11 May)

Age: 4-7 years

Cloud Man, a mythical figure who lives high in the clouds, is the focus of protagonist Cloudia’s dreams in this simple, charming tale that is light on dialogue yet emotively captivating.

Paperbelle (Church Hill Theatre, 8-11 May)

Age: 2-5 years

A clever (not ‘clever-clever’) conceptual play that sees main character Paperbelle do her best to shun the messy, cluttered world of colour as she fights to keep her world ordered, blank and plain. With only a few tickets left at the time of writing, best to snap this one up quick.

By the Seat of Your Pants (North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 8-9 May; Traverse Theatre, 11-13 May)

Age: 7+ years

A change of gear from some of the gentler fare on offer, By the Seat of Your Pants is a slapstick tale of three men for whom sitting nice isn’t an option - sure to ring true with parents of restless children everywhere.

This (Baby) Life (North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 9-12 May)

Age: 4-18 months

Mimicking a baby’s first few months of life - “the moment-by-moment fascination of a baby’s interaction with their adults and their world” - This (Baby) Life is an immersive, interactive experience where the performance responds and reacts to the audience - guaranteed to enthrall, this.

• For the full festival programme (7-14 May), visit the Imaginate website