The National Theatre’s Watch This Space festival will be enticing families into a squashy dome to hear tales from leading storytellers during its Flights Of Fantasy Family Fun week from 12 to 16 August.
Within the brand new inflatable auditorium, storytellers including Jan Blake, Xanthe Gresham, Ben Haggarty, Nick Hennessey and Daniel Morden will tell tales of fantasy and enchantment to children and their parents. Stories are grouped into three categories: Small Stories, aimed at 5 to 7 year olds, which are held in the mornings; Tall Stories, for those aged 8 to 11, held every afternoon; while adults 18+ can be entertained by Stories With An Edge each evening.
Storytelling sessions are ticketed events and tickets can be purchase from the National Theatre box office on 020 7452 3000.
The week also includes a plethora of free family entertainment in Theatre Square, outside the National Theatre. Performances include: Les Moutons, a tale about a shepherd leading his sheep, by Canadian company Corpus; French theatre company Les Grooms’s irreverent brass tribute to Henry Purcell’s King Arthur; an interactive performance about bees entitled Honey; and the chance to befriend an assortment of vegetables, including a sweet potato beauty queen and a marrow with theatrical ambitions, in Vegetable Nannies. International street theatre troupe The Chipolatas rounds off the week’s entertainment on Sunday 16 August with an energetic display of juggling, circus skills and comedy.
Flights Of Fantasy Family Fun marks week seven of the Watch This Space summer festival, a now annual event taking place in the outdoor spaces around the National Theatre which features a huge and varied line up of international artists in both free and ticketed performances. For more information visit the Watch This Space website.
CB