4 - 10 JUNE 2010

2010 was the sixth Lakeside International Children’s Theatre Festival, and - now we are six - we’ve decided to do away with the longest festival title ever and introduce a new one which is much shorter and is also much more representative of the child and family friendly delights that it represents. Wheee! brought a wealth of talent from Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Scotland with some absolutely beautiful theatre which delighted audiences at Lakeside.

Nat Gras’ lovely Sheeptight was a lovely gentle piece about bedtimes, something both children and adults could identify with. TPO’s Kurdish Garden was sumptuously beautiful with their magic carpet digital imagery presenting stunning visuals and gentle dance that everyone enjoyed; even the Lakeside staff had a go! Andy Manley presented My House and returns in October 2010 with his show called White. Aracaladanza’s Nubes was amazing, with costume changes a plenty! Add to that the use of flippers, stilts, top hats, ladders and helium balloon skirts and this made for a glorious 55 minutes of truly engaging dance!

In addition to these performances we held a Festival Weekend on 5 & 6 June which included: wild lakeside walks in Highfields Park with the artist Karen Logan; an enchanting Oogly Boogly experience for 12 - 18 month olds and their parents or carers; a site specific performance 'On the Way to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party' from Lakeside's Youth Theatre and Maison Foo; a story tent; a Labyrinth with a Wishing Tree at its centre; a clutch of different make and do workshops including origami, jewellery-making, and puppet making plus henna-hand painting and face-painting, an interactive Watering Tree and crowd-pleasing sets from comedian James Campbell and local rock 'n' roll heroes Johnny and the Raindrops.

We topped all of this off with the totally brilliant Architects of Air Luminarium - Levity II!

Festival Brochure containing details of all events

NAT GRAS (BELGIUM) PRESENTS
SHEEPTIGHT

Moon in the sky, story in your ear, boy in bed - and sheep jump over the fence… Good night, sheep tight! Specially created for toddlers, this gentle and charming dance theatre about bedtime rituals will always bring smiles all round as children and their carers recognise much of their own experience in this performance! Immediately following the performance, there’s a chance to enjoy a special playtime in the theatre space with a range of fun things to do.

MY HOUSE

Created and performed by Andy Manley
In association with Starcatchers

My house is orange.
The ceiling is furry,
The walls are jaggy,
The faces are shiny,
I like my house,
It’s a lot like me.

A very special house - where all is not as it seems. Rooms and chimneys grow, and shapes and textures change.

Photograph by Paul Watt

DANCE 4 PRESENT
OOGLY BOOGLY

A performance and game for toddlers aged 12-18 months and their parents/carers. Oogly Boogly takes places in a specially made inflatable space, designed by Alan Parkinson of Architects of Air.

TPO (ITALY) IN CO-PRODUCTION WITH TEATRO METASTASIO STABILE DELLA TOSCANA AND LYRIC THEATRE HAMMERSMITH PRESENTS

THE KURDISH GARDEN

Imagine a mysterious path leading from four gateways, each travelling through different Kurdish landscapes and taking inspiration from Islamic gardens before arriving at a place dedicated to a different colour and element: yellow - earth; blue - water; green - leaves; and red - love. Two dancers, an evocative soundscape, and artist Rebwar Saeed’s beautiful paintings combine in this entrancing performance for everyone.

DOWNLOAD THE EDUCATION PACK PRODUCED BY LYRIC HAMMERSMITH

ARACALADANZA (SPAIN) PRESENT
NUBES (CLOUDS)

Firm favourites of Lakeside audiences who raved about previous shows Nada Nada, Pequenos Paraisos and Visto Lo Visto, Enrique Cabrera’s company returned with their newest work Nubes (Clouds). Inspired by the work of the Surrealist artist Magritte, this fabulous dance theatre plays with the theme of clouds in the most magical way. The most extraordinary objects are imaginatively brought to life, a flipper dance which is laugh out loud funny, and a ladder dance which takes your breath away. This is classic Aracaladanza.