If you go down to the woods this summer…you’re sure of a wonderful theatrical experience!
The Point Eastleigh has planned a schedule of creative experiences in Itchen Valley Country Park as part of the Live at the Park programme comprising four family theatrical productions - The Princess and the Pea, King Arthur, Awful Auntie and The Wind in the Willows - and two for slightly older audiences - The War of the Worlds and Much Ado About Murder.
Let’s All Dance presents The Princess and the Pea on Saturday 25 June at 3pm. This gorgeous new production mixes Let’s All Dance’s signature crystal clear narrative, fantastic dancing, beautiful costumes and lovely music to enthral children and families. It’s suitable for all, especially 2 to 11 year-olds, and those with additional needs.
Fun and farcical family adventure King Arthur by The Last Baguette theatre company is up next on Friday 29 July at 3pm. This story of the old world, with knights, wizards, mist and magic, is a deliberately anarchic and anachronistic re-telling of the Arthurian Legend with live music, physical comedy and lo-fi acrobatics. Suitable for ages 5 and over.
Awful Auntie by David Walliams, adapted for the outdoor stage by Heartbreak Productions, is a truly thrilling tale! Owls, ghosts, chases, escapes, motorcycle rides and tiddlywinks fill Stella’s days as she evades her menacing Aunt and saves the family home. The show, which takes place on Sunday 14 August at 4pm, is suitable for ages 7 and over.
Award-winning theatre company Calf2Cow’s retelling of Kenneth Grahame’s classic story The Wind in the Willows hits the park on Friday 19 August at 3.30pm. Join Mole, Ratty and Badger in a floor-stomping, hilarious recount of this woodland adventure, suitable for all ages, as they save Toad and his shiny new motorcar from deep trouble.
Tickets for all family shows are priced £13 / £11 concessions / £41 for a family of four.
The Pantaloons’ War of the Worlds on Friday 15 July at 7pm is suitable for anyone aged 12 and over. Watch and wonder as musical instruments, puppetry and enthusiasm recreate deadly heat-rays, giant fighting-machines, squidgy tentacled Martians and interplanetary warfare! Tickets: £15 / £13 concessions.
Finally, don your detective cap and join Heartbreak Productions for some super silliness for ages 10 and over with Much Ado About Murder on Monday 29 August at 6pm. Five suspects are under the spotlight and the cast needs the audience’s help to find the answers. When did the third gunshot go off – before or after the very silly song? And, most importantly, why didn’t you pack a larger picnic? Tickets: £14.
Charlotte Hall, Creative Director of The Point Eastleigh, said: “We’re bringing our festivals and outdoor pop-up programme under one Anywhere banner of work and this work can be based Anywhere in Eastleigh, spilling out from our theatres into the Borough. In this instance we’re taking the live theatre experience to Itchen Valley Country Park.
“You’ll know when you see our Anywhere banner that you can expect a quality stamp on an experience outside of our theatre and this wonderful Live at the Park line-up of productions has something for everyone.”
Full details of Live at the Park.
