The Bush theatre will welcome families through its doors this October half term with the launch of STORYSTOCK, a new festival of storytelling for children aged 13 and under.
Aimed at everyone who loves stories, be it reading them, writing them or illustrating them, the festival is packed full of talks, workshops, parties and activities, with a host of well-known literary names joining much-loved characters to present three days of fable-filled fun from 31 October to 2 November.
The family festival’s theatrical offerings include The Wimpy Kid Show, which brings to life Jeff Kinney’s best-selling books in a show for children aged seven and older, Beast Quest Show, a fun interactive performance for aspiring knights aged five and older, Burglar Bill Puppet Show for all fans, no matter what age, of Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s well-known bedtime story, and Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes, a rip-roaring, madcap hour of silliness for children aged five and older.
Alongside a plethora of entertaining performances, the event will also feature a series of exclusive talks by writers including The Tiger Who Came To Tea’s Judith Kerr, author of the Sir Charlie Stinky Socks book series, Kristina Stephenson, co-creator of much-loved children’s TV show Rastamouse, Michael De Souza, performance poet and short story writer Laura Dockrill and The Guardian’s theatre critic and children’s author Lyn Gardner.
As if that wasn’t enough to fill three days of tale-teeming entertainment, STORYSTOCK School will bring together the best teachers of creative writing, poetry, illustration, songwriting, drama and much more for a series of interactive sessions, while the craziest of teatime hosts, the Mad Hatter, will join fishy duo Sharky & George, children’s club Maggie And Rose and Halloween Wizards to throw a string of fun and food-filled parties.
Talking about the upcoming event, STORYSTOCK’s director Claire Gill said: “STORYSTOCK is not just another festival. It will be more interactive and more workshop-based so children feel they are really part of the story,” while the Bush theatre’s Executive Director Sian Alexander commented: “We can think of nowhere more fitting for a celebration of storytelling than our theatre, based as it is in the Old Shepherd’s Bush Library. We know many local residents have fond memories of this building from their own childhoods and we look forward to welcoming a new generation of local families to STORYSTOCK this October half term.”
To see the full line-up of more than 35 events taking place over the half term period, visit the Bush theatre’s website.