The Main Event: Imaginate

TWENTY-one and all grown up. Well, sort of. The Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival may have come of age, but its target audience remains people who are still well short of adulthood. This year's festival of children's theatre presents 13 productions for all ages from toddlers to teenagers. You can shimmy and shake with We Dance, Wee Groove, an interactive dance extravaganza for under-fours first seen in 2008; marvel at a romance between two pairs of feet in Chit-chat, a creative anatom

For a festival that's been around for more than two decades, even a cursory flick through the programme reveals that it remains fresh. . There are productions from Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands as well as the largest ever selection of Scottish companies presenting both award-winning, established productions and new work. The homegrown contingent is something of which festival director Tony Reekie, in his 15th year running the festival, is justifiably proud.

"For us to be able to celebrate our 21st, with that whole idea of coming of age, and to be able to present this many Scottish productions, is fabulous. In a sense we've all been on this journey, taking Scottish children's theatre from a place where it really wasn't very good to a place where you've got companies that really are amongst the best in the world."

Celebrated Scottish companies include Wee Stories, who will be performing The Sun, The Moon And A Boy Called River, a quest adventure pitting good against evil; Catherine Wheels Theatre Company, who are presenting Martha, the story of a woman and a goose; and Shona Reppe, who is bringing back her award-winning Cinderella.

So what's the impact on new companies sitting alongside their older, more established peers? "At any festival there's always a little bit of crossing your fingers and hoping that things work out because every festival has got to take chances," says Reekie. "Sense is a piece that we did as a reading at the festival last year and it got such a fabulous response that it gave it the impetus to be put together as a full piece for this year. With all these pieces, people have put together really strong shows."

For Reekie, including old favourites alongside new works is about celebrating the improvement in the quality of work produced in Scotland as well as the depth of talent here.

"When you get a really good production, as long as you're fresh enough to keep on doing it there's always going to be an audience," says Reekie. "Martha has been presented about 1,500 times. People always move on and create new things, but as long as they've got those classic pieces and are able to keep bringing them out, they will – because they just work, they're ageless.

"Martha confounds people's expectations. It's one of these shows where the children come along and really love the story, and the adults just completely fall to bits. You are guaranteed at any performance there's going to be quite a few people in tears. People don't expect it; they come along thinking, 'It's a kids' show, it's going to be fun, it's going to be noisy.' What they don't expect is to be emotionally involved."

As well as the fun, noisy shows such as Woodbeat, which combines percussion and puppetry for the over-twos, there are also productions that take on issues such as loss, the trouble with nicknames, the challenges of friendships and illness. One Thousand Paper Cranes is based on a true story from Japan about a young girl who sets out to save her own life by making 1,000 paper creatures. It is presented by Lu Kemp and Abigail Docherty, who are making their Imaginate debut.

Reekie says: "It's a well-known story I've seen staged quite a few times by different companies but I've never seen it done as well as this one. It never gets hugely sentimental, it never becomes mawkish, it's just done really well."

As for other top picks, Reekie comes back to Martha and mentions Belgian company Studio Orka's Mister Porcelain. Already known for their production Lava, Mister Porcelain, which will be performed in the Botanics, is another one not to be missed.

"If you have a preconception about what shows for children are about then come along," says Reekie. "It'll blow them away. You'll have a great time, there'll be loads of fun and it's just slightly nuts. It's everything you could possibly want." v

The Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival runs from tomorrow until 16 May, at venues in and around Edinburgh, before touring Scotland. www.imaginate.org.uk

• This article was first published in the Scotland on Sunday, May 9, 2010