Half Moon

Gertie is feeling stuck in her smallness – she wants to grow UP and have BIGNESS and TALLNESS! Join Gertie on her adventures through the Himalaya in this beautiful adaptation of the award-winning children’s book by Lu Fraser and Kate Hindley (Winner Book of the Year and Best Picture Book at the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards 2021). With beautiful puppets and catchy tunes, The Littlest Yak is an uplifting musical tale about a tiny yak who wishes she was bigger. It celebrates self-acceptance and the extraordinary inside all of us. Supported by The Marlowe Theatre, Arts Council England, Backstage Trust, Folkestone Town Council and Kent County Council. The Littlest Yak is a LAStheatre production.

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One performer and a flock of shadow puppets tell an engaging and heart-warming story about friendship, laughter and flying the nest. At the end of the performance there is a stay and play session. The Witch and the Egg is a Luminous Tales production.

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Little Bear can’t hear Dad Bear calling, but feels the floor vibrate with heavy footsteps. Little Bear can’t catch the funny joke at school when friends are laughing, but feels the crunch of snow on frozen pavements. Join Little Bear and Dad Bear as they learn how there are many ways to communicate love and to find your place in the world. A retelling of a story by Raymond Antrobus and Polly Dunbar, Can Bears Ski? draws on the author’s experience as a d/Deaf child in a hearing world. This show is British Sign Language (BSL) integrated. Can Bears Ski? is a Definitely Theatre and Pied Piper Theatre production.

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Noise can be gentle, quiet, loud, lots of fun and full of feelings. Dommy B shares a surprising story about growing up, finding a brilliant (but naughty) imaginary friend, becoming ‘Junk the Punk’ and joining a great school band (Whizzkid and the Veggie Burgers)! There’ll be rhymes, jokes, and lots of opportunity to make some noise in a celebration of the power of sound and friendship. Make Some Noise is a Dommy B production.

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Fairy Tales for the Fearless with author Gareth P Jones and illustrator Loretta Schauer, is part of The Big Family Art Event. A fantastical musical journey through the hilariously re-imagined fairy tales of Gareth P Jones and Loretta Schauer, including songs from Rabunzel: The Musical – a unique performance featuring live drawing, rapping and interactive songs played on a variety of instruments. Expect Kung Fu rabbits, disco dancing gorillas and catwalk strutting cats! THE BIG FAMILY ART EVENT Join us for an interactive art and literature experience that explores the bright and imaginative world of visual storytelling through live drawing and storytelling sessions, interactive song-based shows, stimulating creative workshops and lots of opportunities to join in! Children’s Writers and Illustrators for Stories and Literacy (CWISL) and Half Moon are delighted to be working with some of the UK’s best-loved and award-winning writers and illustrators on this exciting event, so The Big Family Art Event is not to be missed! This day-long festival celebrates our autumn exhibition Picture a Story, which brings together a collection of illustrations by author-artists whose published work covers an array of genres, from babies to teenagers.

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Cinema Chill Party is a digital performance that is part of The Big Family Art Event. End the day with a relaxing big-screen cinema event in the theatre. Chill out and watch a digital performance of Half Moon’s hugely popular show Party and let the warmth of a Portuguese summer take you to a place where difference is something to celebrate. Afonso who wants to go to his best friend’s birthday party, but where is his invitation – has it been lost in the post, or maybe he wasn’t even invited? When it finally arrives the excitement and nerves become too much to handle. What should he wear? Will they have balloons? Will anyone play with him? And what about the cake? The show offers a poignant and popular exploration of diversity for the very young. Party has extremely limited dialogue. This makes it accessible to a range of people, including d/Deaf, hard of hearing and non-English speakers. THE BIG FAMILY ART EVENT Join us for an interactive art and literature experience that explores the bright and imaginative world of visual storytelling through live drawing and storytelling sessions, interactive song-based shows, stimulating creative workshops and lots of opportunities to join in! Children’s Writers and Illustrators for Stories and Literacy (CWISL) and Half Moon are delighted to be working with some of the UK’s best-loved and award-winning writers and illustrators on this exciting event, so The Big Family Art Event is not to be missed! This day-long festival celebrates our autumn exhibition Picture a Story, which brings together a collection of illustrations by author-artists whose published work covers an array of genres, from babies to teenagers.

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The Thirteenth Vampire with author Alice Hemming is part of The Big Family Art Event. A hands-on creative opportunity to design your own book cover! Be inspired as you listen to bestselling author Alice Hemming read from her book The Thirteenth Vampire. Enter a world of vampires, scary creatures and creepy-crawly spiders. Children £7. Accompanying adults FREE (please reserve a ticket as space is limited). Join us for an interactive art and literature experience that explores the bright and imaginative world of visual storytelling through live drawing and storytelling sessions, interactive song-based shows, stimulating creative workshops and lots of opportunities to join in! THE BIG FAMILY ART EVENT Children’s Writers and Illustrators for Stories and Literacy (CWISL) and Half Moon are delighted to be working with some of the UK’s best-loved and award-winning writers and illustrators on this exciting event, so The Big Family Art Event is not to be missed! This day-long festival celebrates our autumn exhibition Picture a Story, which brings together a collection of illustrations by author-artists whose published work covers an array of genres, from babies to teenagers.

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The Big Improvised Draw with author-illustrator Bridget Marzo, is part of The Big Family Art Event. Join award-winning author-illustrator Bridget Marzo for The Big Improvised Draw as she reads and draws live on stage some of the many human and animal characters in her books, including a sneak preview of the Stone Age family, which features in her new book, Mo’s Best Friend, to be published in 2024. This unique, interactive event culminates in an improvised draw where you, the audience, can share what you think the new characters might do. Shout out your ideas and Bridget will conjure a new picture tale of the most humongous Christmas party ever. THE BIG FAMILY ART EVENT Join us for an interactive art and literature experience that explores the bright and imaginative world of visual storytelling through live drawing and storytelling sessions, interactive song-based shows, stimulating creative workshops and lots of opportunities to join in! Children’s Writers and Illustrators for Stories and Literacy (CWISL) and Half Moon are delighted to be working with some of the UK’s best-loved and award-winning writers and illustrators on this exciting event, so The Big Family Art Event is not to be missed! This day-long festival celebrates our autumn exhibition Picture a Story, which brings together a collection of illustrations by author-artists whose published work covers an array of genres, from babies to teenagers.

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Father Christmas Needs a Wee with author-illustrator Nicholas Allan is part of The Big Family Art Event. The best-selling picture book Father Christmas Needs a Wee is brought to life by author-illustrator Nicholas Allan as he draws and tells this famous bearded man’s story on Christmas Eve. At each different house that Father Christmas visits, he eats and drinks all the goodies left out for him. Before long he really, really, really needs a wee. Hilarious, and peppered with some real, YES REAL magic moments. THE BIG FAMILY ART EVENT Join us for an interactive art and literature experience that explores the bright and imaginative world of visual storytelling through live drawing and storytelling sessions, interactive song-based shows, stimulating creative workshops and lots of opportunities to join in! Children’s Writers and Illustrators for Stories and Literacy (CWISL) and Half Moon are delighted to be working with some of the UK’s best-loved and award-winning writers and illustrators on this exciting event, so The Big Family Art Event is not to be missed! This day-long festival celebrates our autumn exhibition Picture a Story, which brings together a collection of illustrations by author-artists whose published work covers an array of genres, from babies to teenagers.

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A vibrant exhibition that shines the spotlight on the creative and innovative world of children’s book illustration. Colourful, diverse, wry and amusing, Picture a Story brings together a collection of stunning and evocative work by published author-artists from a range of genres and styles for babies to older children. Picture a Story unlocks the creation of children’s books, empowering young people to read, write, draw and share their own stories. Selected by an expert panel following an open call, the exhibition includes the work of Loretta Schauer (The Legend of Ghastly Jack Crowheart), Bridget Marzo (You, Me and Our World; Tiz and Ott’s Big Draw), Karin Littlewood (Immi; Moonshadow), Rikin Parekh (Fly Tiger, Fly; The Worst Class in the World) and Steve Antony (Mr Panda; Rainbowsaurus, to be published January 2024). Children’s Writers and Illustrators for Stores and Literacy (CWISL) is a membership organisation comprising of a dynamic group of published writers and illustrators who are passionate about creating children’s books, many award-winning in the field. CWISL run festivals and workshops to encourage a love of books, reading and illustration working with schools, libraries and other community groups. From small, local roots in South London, their reach now extends nationally through in-person and virtual events. The Picture a Story programme in partnership with Half Moon, is their first major encounter with families, schools and children in Tower Hamlets. Gallery @ Half Moon is free to visit and is open during the theatre opening hours. Beneath some of the artwork, there are chalkboards for visitors of all ages to make their own responses. You can write a message or draw a picture and leave it for others to enjoy. We also have an art cart to enable children to do their own drawings and collages. For all our exhibitions, we provide an art trail for children to complete appropriate for Artsmark and Arts Award and a series of special events and workshops for schools and community groups. So, for example, school groups visiting the theatre for a performance can arrive 45 mins before the show so the children can complete the art trail. Come and view a range of different styles, all suitable for children and young people.

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The Big Community Draw is part of The Big Family Art Event. Children, parents and author-illustrators come together to create a huge drawing laid out on a giant piece of paper on the theatre floor. Using the gallery exhibition Picture a Story as inspiration, this is the perfect opportunity to get creative and help create a huge communal work of art. Tickets to this event are FREE, but please reserve your place as space is limited! THE BIG FAMILY ART EVENT Join us for an interactive art and literature experience that explores the bright and imaginative world of visual storytelling through live drawing and storytelling sessions, interactive song-based shows, stimulating creative workshops and lots of opportunities to join in! Children’s Writers and Illustrators for Stories and Literacy (CWISL) and Half Moon are delighted to be working with some of the UK’s best-loved and award-winning writers and illustrators on this exciting event, so The Big Family Art Event is not to be missed! This day-long festival celebrates our autumn exhibition Picture a Story, which brings together a collection of illustrations by author-artists whose published work covers an array of genres, from babies to teenagers.

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Sculpting Stories with artist Anne-Marie Perks is part of The Big Family Art Event. Discover how to use clay to create small 3D characters with artist Anne-Marie Perks. Start to create the building blocks of your own animation in this interactive workshop where you’ll have the opportunity to sculpt your own characters using different materials. Please wear appropriate clothing for this messy experience. THE BIG FAMILY ART EVENT Join us for an interactive art and literature experience that explores the bright and imaginative world of visual storytelling through live drawing and storytelling sessions, interactive song-based shows, stimulating creative workshops and lots of opportunities to join in! Children’s Writers and Illustrators for Stories and Literacy (CWISL) and Half Moon are delighted to be working with some of the UK’s best-loved and award-winning writers and illustrators on this exciting event, so The Big Family Art Event is not to be missed! This day-long festival celebrates our autumn exhibition Picture a Story, which brings together a collection of illustrations by author-artists whose published work covers an array of genres, from babies to teenagers.

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Lao Lao of Dragon Mountain with author Margaret Bateson-Hill is part of The Big Family Art Event. A paper-craft adventure! Listen to Margaret Bateson-Hill tell the story of Lao Lao of Dragon Mountain, inspired by the Chinese art of paper cutting. Start by learning how to make a simple geometric shape and then become more adventurous with your own unique snowflake, butterfly, flower or dragon mask. Join us for an interactive art and literature experience that explores the bright and imaginative world of visual storytelling through live drawing and storytelling sessions, interactive song-based shows, stimulating creative workshops and lots of opportunities to join in! THE BIG FAMILY ART EVENT Children’s Writers and Illustrators for Stories and Literacy (CWISL) and Half Moon are delighted to be working with some of the UK’s best-loved and award-winning writers and illustrators on this exciting event, so The Big Family Art Event is not to be missed! This day-long festival celebrates our autumn exhibition Picture a Story, which brings together a collection of illustrations by author-artists whose published work covers an array of genres, from babies to teenagers.

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