Tag Archives: pleasance kidzone

Pleasance Kidzone 2017

Posted on by
1

Image result for pleasance kidzone edinburgh2017I love the Kidzone at the Pleasance…with it’s puppet shows, toys, picnic tables,  free colouring, the fantastic and very reasonable arts and crafts activities and of course, the fabulous Green cafe, keeping all us awake and enthused with hot drinks !!

It makes for a perfect day out if you combine it with checking out a show or two from the fantastic 16 children’s shows on offer at the Pleasance this year !

Some of my top picks are :

The Giant Jam Sandwich – I love reading this book with my kids and am very curious into how they’ll be adapting it for the stage !! Expect rhymes and silliness galore!

The Gruffalo’s Child – Tall Stories make great theatre for kids, and sticking to much loved Julia Donadlson books seems to be working out for them very well !! Expect the usual beautiful puppets, inventive sets and musical melodies !

 

Mavis Sparkle – With a magician for a Dad and a stargazer for a Mum, no wonder there’s more to Mavis than meets the eye! This looks rather magical and adventurous !

The Listies Make You LOL – Returning from their successful run last year, the Listies are hilarious, messy and decidedly insane. Featuring alien attacks, toilet paper guns and the most disgusting pair of underpants you have ever seen in your life  !

The Pleasance will be returning to the EICC again this year, and bringing along this lovely looking piece for little ones :

The Polar Bears Go up – The Polar Bears are moving up in the world. They’ve lost their balloon and they need to get it back. It’s time to get up, step up, climb up, jump up. One thing’s for sure, the only way is up! These lovable Polar Bears are intrepid explorers, famous for their wild expeditions.

 

 

Fantastic first day…

Posted on by
Reply

So, after reading all the programmes, watching the venues being built and seeing hundreds of posters appear all over the city, yesterday I managed to head to the festival and see some shows !!

We had a great day, I’ll be posting some reviews soon, so please keep checking back to that page.

Firstly we saw Captain Flinn and The Pirate Dinosaurs 2: The Magic Cutlass, which was fun and energetic and a great show for wee ones, it has a little bit of everything: catchy songs, dinosaurs, puppets and a few surprises !

kidzone Then we headed along to check out the kidzone at the Pleasance, which was as great as always. We did some of the arts and crafts – you can see what’s on offer in the photo, and prices start at £1 which I think is fantastic value in the festival – it was busy and lots of little ones were enjoying being creative there !

 

morgan and west

To finish off our first day we headed along to see Morgan & West’s Utterly Spiffing Spectacular Magic Show for Kids (and Childish Grown-Ups!) – which was brilliant – they are such a fantastic and quick witted duo and know exactly how to pitch things for kids. There was plenty of audience participation and lots of magic to keep everyone guessing – it’s well worth checking out and was very busy today, so get your tickets early !

Pleasance Kidzone 2016

Posted on by
Reply

The Pleasance Kidzone is like an oasis during the hectic festival for parents…it’s full of craft activities, puppet shows, toys, picnic tables, a buggy park and thankfully some food stalls for that all important cup of coffee !

This year they promise some new treats with the amazing scene machine, monstrous monster-making and kite creating workshops as well as the usual daily crafty activities, and this year we are lucky enough to get double as the Pleasance will be at the EICC with kids shows there too – fantastic !

Information about all of the 18 children’s shows that the Pleasance are hosting this year can be found here ,some of my top picks are :

The Snail and the Whale – Tall Stories do wonderful children’s theatre, and this is no exception. A delightful and gentle version of this well loved book about a tiny snail longing to see the world by Julia Donaldson, featuring beautiful songs, live music and some surprises too !

 

The Cat In The Hat – From the moment his tall, red and white striped hat appears around the door, Sally and her brother know that the Cat is the funniest, most mischievous cat they have ever met. Returning to the festival this year, this is a great and fully entertaining show for little ones, providing lots to look at and plenty of laughs.

 

The Many Doors of Frank Feelbad – This interactive performance looks intriguing and imaginative. Frank is an inquisitive chap with a big problem: what’s happened to Mum? Join Frank on his adventure to find her. There’ll be scavenger hunts, puzzles to solve and even some dancing to dubstep. Dealing sensitively with grief and loss, the show asks how we cope when things go missing.

The Amazing Scene Machine Does Aardinburgh ! – Celebrate Aardman’s 40th birthday with expert Aardman modelmaker Jim Parkyn and his Amazing Scene Machine. Help create a very special 3D clay painting of Edinburgh featuring some of Aardman’s stars including Morph, Shaun the Sheep, Wallace and Gromit – and your own cast of Aardman-esque people and creatures.

 

Highlights from the first week…

Posted on by
1

Phew…it’s all gone by in a bit of a blur, but the first week of the Fringe has been amazing. I have managed to squeeze in ALOT of seeing shows, a moderate amount of hanging out at the BBC tent, a touch of ‘flyers for shows’ collecting and what feels like a tiny pinch of blogging about it all….the sun has been kind enough to shine, ice creams have been eaten and I am feeling great !
It is hard to believe there are still another two and a half weeks to go and the book festival has not even started yet either – I am not sure where I will get the energy from to continue but I am loving the festival 2015 so far…
Here are a few of my highlights from the past week :

  • Traces – as I mentioned in my earlier post about my first day at the festival, this show is absolutely amazing, and still my overall highlight so far. Seven extremely talented and skilled circus performers take you on a journey, intertwining their acrobatic skills with moments of humour and friendship, and most impressively singing in Chinese- you are left wondering if there is anything these guys are not able to do !
  • Secret Life of Suitcases – The Storytelling Centre once again has a hidden gem of a show this festival – this is a beautiful, heart warming piece of theater with some exquisite puppetry. The set is gorgeous, and transforms along with this tale of embracing life’s adventures when you can…
  • Trash Test Dummies – featuring a trio of loveable Aussie clowns, this is a great family circus show with a good balance of acrobatics, clowning and musical fun.
  • Lords of Strut : The Family Show – see the blog post below – these guys were very, very entertaining – fun and mayhem for the whole family.

Both the BBC tent and the Pleasance Kidzone have proved great places to hang out with children. The BBC tent offers a ping pong table, deckchairs, IPads, a big screen showing various shows and a free photo-booth whilst the Pleasance Kidzone has arts and crafts, picnic tables, a puppet theatre and lots of visitors from children’s shows taking place at the various Pleasance venues.

I’m just hoping I find some more time to get out and about and enjoy it all ….

Pleasance Kidzone 2015

Posted on by
2

Each year the Pleasance has a fantastic kidzone – packed with fun craft activities, toys, picnic tables, buggy park and a few food stalls so importantly parents can also grab a well deserved cup of coffee !

Children can also enjoy storytelling sessions, face painting, music, author book signings and regular visits from all the Pleasance performers, so it is a gem of a place to spend some time with kids during the festival season.

The Pleasance’s 2015 children’s programme is almost double what is has been in previous years, with a whopping number of 26 shows for you to choose from – you can read all about them here.

Here are a few of my top picks :

  • Alfie White : Space Explorer – Brought this year by Tall Stories who came to Edinburgh last year with Emily brown and the thing which was extremely enchanting- this shows looks worth a peek. Alfie White is crazy about space. And his dad is training to be the first man on the moon. At least that’s what Alfie tells his schoolmates. In fact, Alfie’s dad has disappeared without trace… A cosmic tale of adventure and discovery for everyone aged 5+                                 
  • The Tiger Who Came To Tea – The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could it possibly be? …..Most parents and children will be familiar with this delightful tale which has spanned generations and this show packed with music and clumsy chaos looks exciting !  (Ages 2 +)               
  • Albee Vector The Sound Collector – This show was part of the free fringe last year and I mentioned it in my blog as being worth visiting but I never made it myself – judging by it’s return to the Pleasance venue this year, it’s well worth the trip ! An epic tale of love, adventure and a sound-hoover called Mustard. Find out how Albee and his love Andromeda survived kings, curses and cruelty on their quest for beautiful sound in the world. (Ages 4+)                                             Albee Vector the Sound Collector
  • Rosie’s Magic Horse – If an ice lolly stick can dream of being a horse, what magic might follow? A fantastic story based on the book by Russell Hoban. This looks very mystical and enchanting…..(Ages 3-8)                                             

Definitely looks like its worth visiting the kidzone again this year….