Family Theatre

GREAT VALUE FAMILY ACTIVITIES TURN UP THE FUN THIS EASTER

For the happiest of Easter breaks, pop in to your local Better leisure centre and turn up the fun with us. We’re right here on your doorstep, the perfect antidote to chocolate crashes and screen-time grumps. So bring out your family’s best side with a splash in the pool.

Get them climbing our walls instead of yours. Encourage them to try something new with our junior gym sessions. Or use the break to help them discover a new skill with our holiday tennis or gymnastics courses.

For great value fun for all the family, see what’s on at better.org.uk/ activities-for-kids Happy Easter and see you soon.

Greenwich Theatre Box Office: 020 8858 7755 5 Apr Little Darling ‘All children, except one, grow up’, and Michael Darling, now 40, has grown up. He’s always wondered about his early memories of flying through the night sky… Was it all a dream? Ages 4+.

Blackheath Halls Box Office: 020 8463 0100 5 Apr Wild Worldly Wonders Treat your child to an unforgettable interactive musical learning experience as a live presenter will take you through the jungles, savannahs, seas and skies of our beautiful planet and beyond. 18 Apr Once Upon a Musical Performance Enjoy a fabulous performance by the children who have completed the Easter Youngstars musical theatre course, presenting their very own production using songs from musicals inspired by books. Bromley Little Theatre Box Office: 03336 663 366 3 – 11 Apr The Wind in the Willows Join Ratty, Mole and Badger as they try to control the highspirited and madcap escapades of Toad. A quirky production breathing fresh life into a classic tale. Churchill Bromley Box Office: 020 3285 6000 1 – 4 Apr Oi Frog & Friends! It’s a new day at Sittingbottom School and Frog is looking for a place to sit, but Cat has other ideas and Dog is doing as he’s told. With so many rhyming rules what will happen when Frog is in charge? 7 Apr Sarah and Duck’s Big Top Birthday Join Sarah and Duck and a host of your favourite friends including The Ribbon Sisters, The Shallots, Flamingo & John and Umbrella, as they plan a birthday party for Scarf Lady in their garden. Ages 3+. 9 – 10 Apr Rapunzel Featuring an original book, music and lyrics, high energy choreography, loveable characters, colourful set and

costumes, plus the chance to meet the characters after the show. Ages 5+.

15 – 16 Apr Midnight In the hours when most people are tucked up, sound asleep in their beds, Midnight the cat rules the roost, exploring the rooftops and alleyways of her town, encountering other creatures. Ages 5+. 17 Apr Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers All around the world Roald Dahl’s words are disappearing, not only from books but children’s minds too. Now the ancient guild of tale tenders needs your help to save the stories. 17 Apr Bowjangles: Excalibow Bowjangles are a string quartet who can really play. They dance whilst they play. They sing whilst they play. They leap, tumble, juggle and joke whilst they play. 18 Apr Gulp! Maya loves water! Swimming in the sea, splashing in her paddling pool. But one summer’s day she gets sucked up the bathroom tap and along the water pipes! Ages 7+. 9 – 10 May My First Ballet: Cinderella Enjoy everyone’s favourite ragsto-riches story in a beautifully adapted new version for children aged 3 upwards, with a narrator to help the young audience follow the story. A first taste of ballet. The Conservatoire Blackheath Box Office: www. conservatoire. org.uk 29 Mar Jazz You Like It – Bossa Nova! In an entertaining afternoon concert for the whole family, Brazilian singer Luna Cohen and three outstanding musicians play beautiful songs of Bossa Nova and give you an idea how it’s made. Erith Playhouse Box Office: 01322 350 345 21 Mar High School Musical Jr A Playhouse Youth Group production based on the original Disney Channel Movie. Geoffrey Whitworth Crayford Box Office: 01322 526 390 9 – 11 Apr The Railway Children The GWT Youth Group is delighted to present this classic tale. Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis’ lives change considerably when their father is taken away and they are forced to move to the countryside. Enjoy the show! And don’t forget to say you saw it in Primary Times! The best shows around...

19 Apr Cirque Enfant Rock out to the great music of Cirque Enfant as this interactive fun show brings amazing acrobats, jugglers, clowns, a singa-long and so much more to the stage.

22 – 24 May Giraffes Can’t Dance Gerald the Giraffe has a tall, thin neck and long, slim legs, great for reaching the shoots on the tallest trees, but not so good for dancing. But the annual Jungle Dance is just around the corner… Ages 2+. Southbank Centre Box Office: 020 7960 4200 4 – 5 Apr Comedy Club 4 Kids The best stand-ups around do their thing for a family audience – without the rude bits. Familyfriendly, but not dumbed down, kids add their own surreal edge to the heckles.

7 – 11 Apr Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales Meet a whole host of colourful characters from best-loved titles including Tiddler, Monkey Puzzle, The Smartest Giant in Town and A Squash and a Squeeze. Ages 3+.

14 – 15 Apr Peppa Pig: My First Concert (Also 30-31 May) Sing and dance along with everyone’s favourite pig family in an interactive introduction to live orchestra for the whole family, taking in Mozart and ‘Muddy Puddles’.

15 – 19 Apr Big Up! What happens when a beatboxer, a singer and a puppeteer arrive on stage but nothing is ready? No set, no instruments, no puppets. No rules. Ages 4+.

16 – 17 Apr intotheclouds High in the sky, clouds sit above us, out of reach and all alone. But one day, Claud has an idea! The 11.15am performance is smaller and calmer for children with SEND needs or on the autistic spectrum.

9 May Southbank Sinfonia Family Concert In a live performance featuring big-screen projections, 33 energetic musicians become your guides. Hear straight from the performers and discover the ingredients of classical music. Ages 5-11.

Family Theatre Festival Returns to Greenwich This Easter sees the triumphant return of the Greenwich Children’s Theatre Festival, one of the country’s leading festivals of performance for young people. Launched in 2008, the festival now welcomes some of the UK’s leading theatre companies presenting work for families and children – and this year is no different. Highlights of the programme, which runs from 5 to 19 April, include big names like Rapunzel and, CBBC favourite, Sarah and Duck, alongside a host of new shows. Little Darling, which launches the festival on 5 April, tells the story of Michael Darling, brother to Wendy and one-time friend to Peter Pan, who finds himself all grown-up and yearning for those days when he could fly in Neverland. Meet Me A Tree, from the acclaimed Hurly Burly Theatre Company, is a new opera for the very youngest theatregoers. Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers, specially commissioned by Puffin Books, is an interactive show that imagines a world where Roald Dahl’s stories are disappearing from the bookshelves and from the minds of children. With performance workshops in drama, clowning and puppetry also planned, alongside a host of other shows, plus a circus finale from Cirque Enfant

L I T T L E D A R L I N G

S A R A H & D U C K

M I D N I G H T

B O W J A N G L E S M E E T M E A T R E E

R O A L D D A H L A N D T H E I M A G I N A T I O N S E E K E R S

@BOWJANGLESMUSIC BOWJANGLES.ORG

to close the festival, this year’s line-up is looking as impressive as ever. Greenwich could be the number one family destination for the long Easter holidays. For more information about Greenwich Children’s Theatre Festival, visit www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk.

Zippo’s Circus Back on Blackheath Zippo’s Circus is back for Easter with a brand-new 2020 show, ‘Nomads’. Acrobats from the Mongolian steppe, astonishing aerialists, clever comics and daredevil bikers come together to excite and astound. Centre spot goes to the thrilling Lucius Team of five Brazilian motorcyclists in the famous Globe of Death. And back by popular demand is Paulo Dos Santos, a brilliant 3 foot 6 inches (107cm) tall showman, acrobat and physical comedian. The whole show is all presented under the watchful eye of the world’s greatest ringmaster (and budgie-trainer!) Norman Barrett MBE. Visit Zippo’s Circus on Blackheath Common between Thursday 2 and Sunday 19 April. For times and discount tickets, visit www.zippos.co.uk. Photo credit: Piet-Hein Out