Escape From Oz
Autumn and Halloween production available to book now
A twister has blown through Kansas, sent pumpkins flying over walls and blown Dorothy far from her home, trapping her in the strange land of Oz with a wicked witch, a scared Lion and a Scarecrow who wants a brain. Aunty Em needs visitors to help find her niece Dorothy. Once found, Dorothy enlists the help of young people to uncover the pumpkin password which allows her entry to the Castle of the Wicked Witch of the West, retrieve her Ruby Slippers and return home
CHARACTERS:
Dorothy, Aunty Emm, Lion, Scarecrow, the Great and Powerful Oz.
PUPPETRY:
The Wicked Witch of the West. Charlie the Crow.
SCENES:
The Pumkin patch with Aunty Emm, Throne Room of the Great Oz, Dorthy and Scarecrow. The Cowardly Lion, The Flying Monkey Wood, The Castle of the Wicked Witch.
ACTIVITIES AND GAMES.
Pumpkin Password, Lion’s Roar Box, Book of Brains.
Visuals on the trail: Ruby slippers, witch hats, pumpkins, hearts, rainbows.
Summer production available to book now
A nostalgic steam train adventure with the main characters from this much-loved story. Railway Children Roberta, Peter, Phyliss and Mr Perks the Porter transport visitors back in time on a quest to meet the Old Gentleman, find all the things on Doctor Forest’s list to make Mother well again, mine for coal with Peter and look for the missing Station Cat. Areas are turned into station platforms and Three Chimneys.
CHARACTERS:
Roberta, Peter, Phyllis, Perks the Porter.
PUPPETRY:
James the Dog, Ten Twenty the Station Master’s Cat.
SCENES:
Mr Perks at the Station. Roberta at Three Chimneys. Phyllis and the Sign. Peter Mining for Coal. Send our love to Father. The Old Gentleman. Return to Three Chimneys.
ACTIVITIES AND GAMES.
Station Clean Up. All Aboard. Send our Love to Father. The Village Shop.
VISUAL ON THE TRAIL.
White hankies, locomotive signs, platform numbers.
Spring into Summer production available to book now
‘We had a wonderful day in Wonderland. It was one of the best experiences I have had with my children. The actors were great and we loved it! Easter 2023
The White Rabbit has lost his gloves and is late for Croquet with the Queen of Hearts, the Duchess’ baby has turned into a pig, the Hatter has put the dormouse in the tea pot, and someone has stolen the Queen of Heart’s jam tarts! Can you help Alice to find them and restore order to the gardens?
CHARACTERS:
Alice, the White Rabbit, the Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, the Duchess.
PUPPETRY:
The Pig Baby.
SCENES:
Can be performed in one to five locations around your site/property/venue.
Alice and the White Rabbit. The Hatter’s Tea Party. The Duchess and the Baby. The Queen of Hearts. Off with Her Head.
ACTIVITIES AND GAMES:
Croquet with the Queen of Hearts. Jam tart hunt.
Something gross and ghostly is haunting Wizarding School. Young witches and wizards take up their wands and broomsticks and join a quest to outwit the ghost and deliver Wizarding school from its horrible clutches. Witches and wizards must assemble at the site to undergo rigorous Ghost Busting training before they set out on their quest. All those who complete the quest receive a Ghost Busting certificate.
CHARACTERS:
Professor Benvolio, Willow the Witch, Miss Charming, Oswold the Caretaker, Ghostly Gertrude.
PUPPETRY:
Crossbones the Cat. Dark Smoke the Baby Dragon.
SCENES:
Potions Class with Willow the Witch. Cat Charming with Miss Charming. Wand Wafting and Broomstick Tricks with Professor Benvolio. An encounter with Ghostly Gertrude. Oswold and the Baby Dragon. The Wizarding Stone Ceremony.
ACTIVITIES AND GAMES.
Dragon Egg hunt with Oswold. Potion making. Charm making,
Visuals on the trail: Ghosts, spell scrolls, potion bottles, bats.
Spring into Summer production available to book now
Follow the Robin trail and join Mary and Dickon on their quest to find the lost key to the secret garden. Help Martha the maid with her chores, play Edwardian games with Mary and Dickon, learn how to talk to animals and plant sunflower seeds with the gardener but be careful Mrs Medlock the housekeeper doesn’t find you in the garden!
CHARACTERS:
Mary, Dickon, Martha the Maid, the Housekeeper, the Gardener
PUPPETRY:
Rabbits, mice, baby fox, robin.
SCENES:
Can be performed in two to six locations around your site/property/venue. Martha and Mary. Dickon the Animal Charmer. Mary and the Robin. Meet the Gardener. Looking for the Secret Garden. The Secret Garden Revealed.
ACTIVITIES AND GAMES:
Seed planting with the gardener. Animal charming with Dickon
VISUALS ON THE TRAIL:
Robins, seed packets, marigolds, golden keys, butterflies and giant bugs.
Frequently performed in conjunction with National Children’s Gardening week during May/June half term.
Thomas Hardy’s best known and most passionate Dorset story is brought faithfully to life in a fresh adaptation which is “As true to the book as you can possibly get” – Country and Border Magazine.
From the company which specializes in period productions “with impressive results” – Dorset Echo. With a captivating plot, atmospheric music, songs, country dances and a good measure of ‘Wessex comedy it relives the struggles of fair maiden Tess who, having fallen victim to the desires of bounder Alec D’Urberville, fights to keep her family from starvation, forget the name D’Urberville, and gain forgiveness from Angel Clare – the man she truly loves.
Recreated with fine attention to period detail from the glorious opening springtide fertility dance to its dramatic climax amongst the brooding ruins of Stonehenge.
‘Anyone who goes to see this theatre company’s adaptation of Hardy’s timeless classic, who hasn’t read the book, will certainly be inspired to do so after seeing it brought to life superbly on stage’
– by: Northern Echo
‘Superbly brought to life on stage with set and costumes which pay fine attention to period detail and the addition of authentic song and dance’
– by: Lancashire Evening News
Summer production available to book now
Captain Hook and his naughty, nasty pirates have sailed down river and set up camp. They have heard there is treasure to be found and are digging up the garden! Young people, and their families take part in a quest to help good Pirate Polly save the flowers in the garden, and the fairies who live amongst them, from destruction.
CHARACTERS:
Captain Hook, Wormwood his servant, Pirate Polly, Flower Fairy Dahlia.
PUPPETS:
Barkley the Pirate Dog
SCENES:
Pirate Polly recruits her pirates. Flower Fairy Spell Den. Wormwood at Skull Bridge. The Pirate Encampment. Hunting for Treasure. Pirates V Fairies
ACTIVITIES AND GAMES:
Digging for treasure, canon ball challenge, fairy spells. Visuals on the trail: Skull and Crossbones. Fairy wings, Treasure bags.
Spring into Summer production available to book now
Step through the Looking Glass with Alice and Dinah the Cat. Find all the pieces that will put poor Humpty back together again, take part in a giant game of Chess and an Egg and Spoon Race. Meet the Red and White Queens, and battle against them to crown Alice Queen of Looking Glass Land!
CHARACTERS:
Alice, Humpty Dumpty, The White Queen, the Red Queen.
PUPPETRY:
Dinah the cat.
SCENES:
Alice and the Looking Glass. Humpty Dumpty on the Wall. The Red Queen. The White Queen. Battle of the Queens.
ACTIVITIES AND GAMES:
Egg and Spoon race with Humpty Dumpty. Chess with the Red Queen.
VISUALS ON THE TRAIL:
Chess pieces, white roses, red roses, easter eggs. Frequently Performed over Easter/Spring holidays.
Set in New England in the 1860’s, Little Women tells the heartfelt story of an average family, struggling with all the usual growing pains. But little women – Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy have the added trials of War and poverty to contend with.
Father is serving in the American Civil War and Marmee looks after her girls, packs boxes for the soldiers and does as much as she can to help the families who are suffering nearer to home.
Our central character Jo, said to be based, largely, on Louisa M. Alcott herself, is a strong, gifted, and determined young woman who wants, more than anything, to become a writer and use her talent to help support her family. Laurie the lovable, motherless ‘boy-next-door’, just longs to be part of the March family!
Western Morning News
‘A sensitively directed, intimate and evocative adaptation, underpinned by human emotion and with fine attention to period detail.’
Northern Echo
‘A real ‘feel-good’ night out. Guaranteed to leave you with a warm glow’
One of the best loved family classics of all time is brought to the stage in an exciting production.
Steam engines and great adventures abound in this tale of three children who, when their father is mysteriously taken away, are forced to leave the comfort of middle-class London for a new life in the countryside. Each day Roberta, Peter and Phyllis run down the field to the railway track and wave at the passing London train, sending their love to father.
Little do they know that the kindly old gentleman traveller who waves back holds the key to their father’s disappearance
Theatre World Magazine
‘It was a week I was glad to be British. A golden glow of nostalgia seeps off the stage and into the auditorium. It’s sweet, it’s funny, it’s a perfect introduction to theatre and to children’s literature’
Westmorland Gazette
‘A good piece of theatre should transport the audience into a believable and consistent world despite the limitations of stage and audience format. Ali Gorton’s production of The Railway Children achieved that superbly’
Plymouth Extra
‘An enchanting revisiting of the story’
Eastern Evening News
‘The Railway Children steamed into Norwich Theatre Royal last night with clouds of atmospheric steam and just the sort of childlike innocence and fun remembered from the book and film. James the dog stole every scene he was in. This wonderfully life-like puppet sniffed out food, resisted bath time and had the audience eating out of his paws.’
An exciting journey begins when Bathsheba refuses the hand of the humble Shepherd who loves her, and leaves the shelter of her Aunt’s Dorset cottage, to begin a new life as Mistress of her late Uncle’s farm. A fire, terrible storms, and disease amongst the animals threaten her farm and its workers. There’s a murder, a love triangle, a wedding, a wassail, a barn dance and heaps of pastoral comedy from yokels Lydia Smallbury and Joseph Poorgrass.
In remaining true to the novel, where comedy combines skilfully with tragedy, we ensure an enjoyable and moving theatre experience which is suitable for all.
Past venues include Powderham Castle, Bowhill House, Ickworth House, Highcliffe Castle, Harewood House, Boughton House, The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Broxbourne Gardens, Arley Hall, Bolton Abbey, Corfe Castle.
Autumn and Halloween production available to book now
Something gross and ghostly is haunting Wizarding School. Young witches and wizards take up their wands and broomsticks and join a quest to outwit the ghost and deliver Wizarding school from its’ horrible clutches. Witches and wizards must assemble at the site to undergo rigorous Ghost Busting training before they set out on their quest. All those who complete the quest receive a Ghost Busting certificate.
CHARACTERS:
Professor Benvolio, Willow the Witch, Miss Charming, Oswold the Caretaker, Ghostly Gertrude.
PUPPETRY:
Crossbones the Cat. Dark Smoke the Baby Dragon.
SCENES:
Potions Class with Willow the Witch. Cat Charming with Miss Charming. Wand Wafting and Broomstick Tricks with Professor Benvolio. An encounter with Ghostly Gertrude. Oswold and the Baby Dragon. The Wizarding Stone Ceremony.
ACTIVITIES AND GAMES.
Dragon Egg hunt with Oswold. Potion making. Charm making,
Visuals on the trail: Ghosts, spell scrolls, potion bottles, bats.
Winter production available to book now
The Wicked White witch has arrived and brought winter with her. She has also captured Lucy’s brother Edmund and taken him to her ice palace! Visitors step through a 1940’s wardrobe into the land of Narnia and join forces with Lucy, Mr Beaver and Aslan to rescue Edmund, find the magic gifts left by Father Christmas and and save the site from permanent winter.
CHARACTERS:
Lucy, Edmund, Mr Beaver, Aslan, Mrs McCready the Housekeeper, the White Witch, Father Christmas.
PUPPETRY:
Morgrim – servant to the White Witch.
SCENES:
Through the Wardrobe with Lucy, Mr Tumnus’s Cave clues, Mr Beaver’s story. Lucy and Father Christmas, Lucy Takes Control, Edmund and the Turkish Delight. The Palace of the White Witch, Aslan’s Tent, The Battle for Spring, return to the Wardrobe.
Visuals on the trail: Turkish Delight, snowballs, silver bells, robins, icicles, lamps, lions, 1940’s Dressing.