Hightide Comes to Walthamstow

HIGHTIDE TO BRING FAMILY FUN TO LONDON IN SEPTEMBER

• HIGHTIDE COME TO WALTHAMSTOW FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME 26^th SEPTEMBER- 8^thOCTOBER WITH A WIDE RANGE OF WORK FOR FAMILIES, CHILDREN AND SCHOOL GROUPS

• THE FULL WALTHAMSTOW PROGRAMME INCLUDES THREE HEADLINE PLAYS, COMEDY, A SITE-SPECIFIC PRODUCTION AND A STRAND OF WORK SHOWCASING LOCAL TALENT

• THE FESTIVAL OF NEW WRITING, COMEDY, TALKS, CABARET AND FAMILY SHOWS PLAYS IN  ALDEBURGH, SUFFOLK 12 – 17 SEPTEMBER AND WALTHAMSTOW, LONDON 26 SEPTEMBER – 8 OCTOBER

HighTide, one of the UK’s most prominent arts festivals, will come to Walthamstow for the very first time this September with a wide range of exciting and engaging performances for families, pre-school children and school groups. The Festival, which has previously been based in Suffolk, will tailor its London programme specifically for the area . Waltham Forest has a younger than average population with increasing numbers of families with young children moving to the area, which is reflected in the Walthamstow strand of the festival’s programme. Family work includes Little Angel Theatre’s Me… about a tiny baby penguin, Shark in the Park! based on the books by Nick Sharratt (The Hairy Maclary Show) and Waltham Forest based BeBop Baby with DJ sets from Nostalgia 77 and friends to get your minis up and dancing! 

In addition to this there will be a multi-sensory dance floor filled with bubble machines and giant balloons, dressing up, face painting and more.

Bringing the festival to the centre of Walthamstow will mean that high quality work will be showcased right on people’s doorsteps and enable the borough to develop partnerships beneficial to the area’s cultural sector. Free and discounted tickets are available to those with a Waltham Forest postcode and HighTide will be working to help young people find routes into creative roles, in collaboration with local organisation Big Creative Training, hosting a traineeship and work experience placements.

The full line up of family and children’s shows is listed below.

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Nonsense Room Productions, Macrobert Arts Centre and ABA International Touring present
Shark in the Park
Suitable for all ages

Timothy Pope is looking through his telescope –but wait, is that a Shark, in the Park!?  From the creative team behind ‘The Hairy Maclary show’ - see all 3 of Nick Sharratt’s ‘Shark in the Park’ books live on Stage! Featuring all 3 of the ‘Shark in the Park’ Series – Shark in the Park, Shark in the Dark and Shark in the Park on a Windy Day – this fin-tastic, family musical follows Timothy Pope (and his telescope!) on 3 exciting adventures.

Little Angel Theatre presents
Me…
Recommended ages 2-6 years

The world is a very big place, especially for a tiny baby penguin who is just finding his feet. The shimmering stars and glistening snow spin around our little hero, while the mountains tower high and the wind rushes to and fro. And although baby penguin may be small his family know he’s the biggest thing of all.
This early year’s favourite centres around a parent and their love for their child and is adapted from the book by much loved children’s author Emma Dodd.

E17 Puppet Project present
Vikings and Valkyries
Suitable for ages 6-13

Go on an adventure through the classic Icelandic sagas and discover how the legendary Volsung warriors came to be in this puppet and live action show featuring heroes, magic, a mythical wolf, and Mr William Morris himself!
E17 Puppet Project is a travelling theatre company producing professional children’s theatre. They create original interactive shows using rod puppetry, object manipulation and physical theatre to introduce young audiences to complex narratives.

Sara Mitra and Lottie Allen present
A Magical Musical Story Box
Suitable for ages 0-7 with a parent or guardian

A Magical Musical Story Box is a newly devised music/theatre piece that engages children in a world of make-believe, song, percussion and physical movement, designed to showcase the sounds of instruments from the world of jazz.
Children are invited to join in with anti-hero Captain Wonkynose and his pirate crew as they explore the seven seas, hunt for treasure and battle sea monsters.

BeBop Baby
Suitable for all ages. Babes in arms and or those under 12 months can be accompanied by an adult and do not need a ticket.

BeBop Baby, a daytime BeBop dance for all the family, is coming to HighTide Festival to get audiences and their small people into the festival spirit. DJ sets from Nostalgia 77 & friends to get you & your mini’s up & dancing, the jaw-dropping Tongue Fu band with their freestyle rap, poetry & improvised music live, lively and colourful props and inventive musical play. In addition to this there will be a multi-sensory dance floor filled with bubble machines and giant balloons, dressing up, face painting and more.

Hartbeeps present
Baby Beeps 
For ages/stages sitting to walking

Hartbeeps create innovative and interactive productions for the very young, by transforming everyday environments into colourful, tactile wonderlands, using state-of-the-art music production along with staging sets, props and puppetry.
Baby Beeps classes take a sound journey through ‘Babyland’, celebrating ‘baby babbles’ as the important beginnings of baby’s developing language - full of music and rhythm. Baby Beeps turn these sounds into songs, happy claps and puppet characters.

Hartbeeps present
Baby Bells
For ages/stages newborn to sitting

Baby Bells has been created by Hartbeeps specialist music productions for babies and young children, in order to offer parents a practical tool kit of lullabies, rhymes, tickle tunes, creative movement, relaxation and songs that are both informative and  delightful.

Mrs H and the Sing-along Band
A show for all the family, specifically for children up to 9 years old. Babes in arms and or those under 12 months can be accompanied by an adult and do not need a ticket.
Mrs H and the Sing-along band bring their unique family music to the big top at HighTide. No strangers to the area, they have been entertaining young and old in the borough for over four years. Their aim is provide quality music for children, that adults will love too. Bringing together elements of Folk, Soul, Afro, Latin, Dub, comedy and theatre this unique band present the ‘sing-along’ with a new lease of life for all the family to join in with.

HighTide will be presented in both Suffolk, where it has been for the last 10 years and Walthamstow and full information can be found here. The Walthamstow Festival will run 26 September – 8 October.

ENDS