BalletLORENT’s take on the popular Brothers Grimm fairytale Snow White is set to entertain children at Sadler’s Wells in March as part of the venue’s annual two-day festival Family Weekend.
Snow White joins another family-friendly production, Digitopia, in Sadler’s Wells’ Family Weekend on 25 and 26 March.
Reuniting the award-winning team behind balletLORENT’s Rapunzel, including former Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Snow White takes inspiration from the classic fairytale to tell the story of the much-loved title character, a mother consumed by jealousy and the seven miners who are Snow White’s only hope.
Snow White, which is suitable for children aged seven-years-old and older, is directed by balletLORENT’s Artistic Director Liv Lorent and features narration by Olivier Award winner Lindsay Duncan.
While Snow White entertains families on Sadler’s Wells’ main stage, in the Lilian Baylis Studio Digitopia will be combining live dance and digital technology to create a world that defies the usual rules of gravity and physics.
Suitable for children aged five-years-old and older, the innovative production from the Tom Dale Company and MOKO Dance follows the story of Dotty’s friend Hex, who is a simple two-dimensional line. One day Hex really wants to make a curve and, with lots of effort, he learns to bend, then multiply and suddenly he can turn into anything he wants to, eventually popping into three dimensions.
Sadler’s Wells’ Family Weekend will see the productions accompanied by a range of workshops and activities. Digitopia will run alongside hour-long Creative Dance Workshops for children aged five to eight-years-old exploring themes from the show. Alongside Snow White there will be a series of Family Dance Workshops for parents and children of all abilities based around music and dance. For Digitopia ticket holders there will also be Stay and Play Workshops, which allow participants aged five to 10-years-old to join the performers on stage for a 30-minute session exploring dance and technology.
Talking about Sadler’s Wells’ commitment to producing work for young people, the venue’s Director of Programme, Katy Arnander, said: “We are committed to programming work that children and their families can enjoy together, with the same high production values that audiences experience at Sadler’s Wells throughout the year. We aim to offer memorable theatrical experiences to capture children’s imaginations and engender an interest in live performance from a young age, making them feel that the theatre is somewhere they want to come back to.”
Sadler’s Wells continues to offer family-friendly productions outside of its annual Family Weekend, with shows including My First Ballet: Sleeping Beauty, Northern Ballet’s Tortoise & The Hare and ZooNation Dance Company’s Into The Hoods: Remixed also set to delight young theatregoers in 2016.
For more information about the Family Weekend and to book tickets to any of the shows or workshops, visit the Sadler’s Wells website.