Treehouse Theatre
Interactive theatre and drama for the history curriculum,
plus story telling, pantomime, festival fun and more...
Goldilocks, Adventures of a Porridge Thief
Our Community tour takes us to local SEND schools and day centres for adults with disabilities 9th - 14th May.
AND...open to the general public: Sat 14th May at Black Cherry Theatre and Comedy Club.
STOP PRESS!!
We are absolutely delighted to announce that we've been awarded Arts Council funding to tour Goldilocks again this May,
so that people with disabilities who were able to see the performance due to the rise in Covid cases before Christmas,
get a chance to see the show!
Environmental Responsibility
We have committed to making this tour as sustainable as possible - thinking about how we make and re-use
the props and costumes, how we travel around, and how our audiences reach the shows.
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THANK YOU!!
To everyone who came to a performance - more than 10,000 of you - thank you for making this panto season a wonderful experience! Its been a challenge with Covid as you can probably imagine, but Treehouse Theatre are blessed with resilient, dedicated and talented actors.....and supportive, welcoming audiences! Sharing the joy of live theatre has been a real privilege this winter.
A special thank you to the 1500+ audience members who responded to the call "So, who wants to join in?!". For those who don't just want to sit and watch, our pantomime is here for you!! Your performances as living porridge, trees, Little Pigs, and Billarickie primary school dancers were brilliant! We hope you enjoyed your moment on stage.
BUT...We are acutely aware that very few people with disabilities were able to see the performance due to the rise in Covid cases before Christmas. We’re really sad about this, those audiences are very dear to our hearts.
We are planning to tour again for one week in May, to give those who missed out this winter a chance to book the show.
PLEASE GET IN TOUCH IF YOU'D LIKE TO BE INCLUDED ON THE TOUR!
Dates available 9th – 14th May
NEXT YEAR.....Jack and the Beanstalk will be our Pantomime next winter!
What really lies at the top of the Beanstalk?
Who exactly is the mysterious Bean-Seller who started all the mischief?
And will Jacks Cow ever find her way home?
DATES AVAILABLE TO BOOK NOW - Please contact us now to book Mid-Nov 2022 to Mid-Jan 2023
Goldilocks! Open to the public for 2 PERFORMANCES ONLY!
BOX OFFICE
Tickets via our venues - click through the links above
All tickets £7 | £25 family of four | Age guide 4+
On facebook:
Saturday 15th January at 12 noon
Boscombe Highstreet (next to Sainsburys)
The Druitt Hall (hosted by The Red House Museum)
Christchurch Highstreet
An Interactive Adventure
Development phase; Interactive performances - September 2021
Full touring Pantomime for Schools, Venues and Organisations - Nov 2021-Jan 2022
Thanks to Arts Council funding, we’ll be writing this year’s Panto - 'Goldilocks, Adventures of a Porridge Thief' - with help from all of you!
What happens when Goldilocks grabs the Bears Magic Porridge Pot and runs off with it?
Will Baby Bear be able to get it back and fulfil his Coming of Age quest?
Will the Big Bad Wolf get his hands on the Magic Pot?
And will Goldilocks ever be able to stop the Pot from cooking porridge?
We have been touring an interactive version of ‘Goldilocks’ to schools, venues and events during September - YOU have decided what happens next - and helped perform it too!
Its been hilarious, silly, unexpected, collaborative, and nearly always covered in porridge.
The ideas from the improvised performances will be gathered together and from that amazing well of creativity, our panto will emerge! The stories are very unique to their audiences, with 'in-jokes' and often have a strange dream-like quality. Its fascinating to see where different groups of people wander from the same starting point.
Some performances concluded with an informal Q&A, where we talked about the roles of women and disabled characters in traditional tales, and how this is reflected in their own story and others. This will help us challenge stereotypes when we come to write the script.
In addition, we have made an online story, on a blog page - with people able to contribute ideas via email, text, instagram and facebook. We filmed the scenes in various places where we found ourselves on tour, with the help of whoever happened to be around!
All of these improvised stories are here - we invite you to read, enjoy, and tell us what you think of them!
Any ideas that you really like?
Any characters you'd like to see more of?
What would YOU have contributed to the story if you were there?
Thank you to everyone who came to a show!
ONLINE STORY!
Check out the full story created online on our BLOG, and watch the mini-films of each scene.
WELL DONE to all the contributors - its a great story!
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Rehearsals
We've had a packed rehearsal week, learned loads, played lots, and can't wait to hit the road!
Jonny Hoskins worked with the cast to bring out the physical comedy of the piece - we are all clowns in the end! Skills which also can be drawn on during the improvised part of the piece.
Peter Courtenay is an improvisation expert and has been challenging us to think deeply about the way we 'gather' stories from the audience, what we want to achieve and the best way to get there!
Chris Flounders is our signing teacher! Starting this summer, we are trying to embed sign language throughout our performances, and use non-verbal actors. 'Goldilocks' is signed throughout the opening scene - though the improvised part may be more of a challenge!
We ended the week with a visit from Rob Payne, who filmed the opening scene for the online version of the show.
Winter 2022/23
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Interactive Pantomime
"Jack and the Beanstalk"
We perform in schools and day centres from the end of November until mid-January.
November & December 2022 tour - Open for bookings
January 2023 tour - Open for bookings
Book now / check dates - 01202 421806 / 07855 117530 / info@treehousetheatre.com
“We LOVED the whole performance! It was wonderful to see our less confident children up, dancing and smiling. Lots of feedback from parents saying they went home singing songs, dancing and drawing pictures of the event”
“It was fantastic. Children in all year groups were engaged throughout. Very well set up and performed. Audience participation was great. Children enjoyed the well known songs”
“Once again another amazing performance. The performance was perfectly pitched for the primary age range and the audience was actively engaged with the play. Great to see instruments being played and children joining in in a variety of ways. "
“Great adaptation of the story, humour was perfect for the children and adults. LOVED the inclusion of the audience members! All adults and children really enjoyed every aspect, thank you”
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Up close, immersive and very interactive,
a Treehouse Panto is always a unique experience!
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We always stage our Pantomime in-the-round, as it allows the whole audience to see and hear properly. Its a very immersive experience, with the actors centre stage the whole time, surrounded by and interacting with the audience. The action feels VERY close, especially if there's a hungry dragon or a sword fight or a chase going on!
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Around 30 audience members can have a small part in the show, from minor speaking parts to interactive scenery (strictly volunteers only - we never pick on people!). It makes each performance unique to its audience, and adds a layer of fun and involvement far beyond dragging unwilling participants onto stage, or just shouting from your seat.
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We are a small company, our cast are very skilled, and every show is written for specific actors to perform using their unique talents. With the freedom to harness the skills of our cast members, rather than a one-size-fits-all-actors script, our shows include live music played on real instruments by actors on stage, stilt-walking, gymnastics, rapping, sword fighting....things which make live theatre memorable and exciting
Shows open to the public
There will be performances open to the public in January 2023 - hosted by ourselves and by local venues.
If you are interested in booking us, please get in touch!