FLYING COWS, spiralling elves, a boy made of cheese, a singing monkey, spicy feet, and the most spectacular inflatable space imaginable - it’s all at the children’s arts festival, Baboró.
The Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, which runs from October 11 to 19, begins with The Way Back Home, a theatre adaptation of Oliver Jeffers’ much loved picture book (ages four to six ), while Kidding Ensemble’s Sweet Hands, Spicy Feet, set in the Caribbean will create a joyful world of puppets, percussion, song, and story (ages 0-three ).
Fidget Feet’s The Elves and The Shoemaker will offer an immersive storytelling experience through music and aerial dance while Flying Cow from Holland’s De Stilte is a fun and imaginative dance show (both shows for ages four to eight ); Theatre Lovett’s Mr Foley, The Radio Operator will conjure characters full of charm from Mr Foley’s colourful past (six+ ), and Scottish puppeteer Shona Reppe’s The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean will lead the audience into a hidden world of wonder.
USA’s Experiential Theater Company’s The Odysssey Experience offers a journey unlike any other (eight+ ). Also check out The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy, written by Finegan Kruckemeyer from Australia’s Slingsby (nine+ ).
Galway duo, The Gombeens, present Stories of a Yellow Town, which tells the personal stories of Brazilian and Irish people living in Gort (10+ ). Your Man’s Puppet’s will present The Musical Menagerie in The Mall Theatre, Tuam (seven+ ).
For the nine days of the festival, the Spanish Arch will be reimagined with a spectacular inflatable structure. Amococo, a luminarium from England’s Architects of Air, invites visitors to enjoy a magical, one-of-a-kind, sensory experience of light, colour, sound and design.
KBC Bank joins forces with Baboró for the first time to present a stunning exhibition in the KBC Hub in Eyre Square. Citizens of the World, Now created by Italy’s La Baracca – Testoni is inspired by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which states every child has the right to participate in cultural and artistic activities. Based on that, these 18 cultural rights are presented in a series of 18 beautifully illustrated panels.
Other free events include a Sea Science Exploration Zone; an exhibition from children’s book illustrator, Kamila Slocinska in Ard Bia at Nimmo’s; workshops for primary teachers in association with Trócaire; and a workshop with Blue Teapot actors.
The Relaxed Programme features performances for parents/teachers who have concerns about bringing children to a public event. Relaxed Performances include The Way Back Home, Sweet Hands, Spicy Feet, and The Elves and The Shoemaker.
The feature interview is with Shona Reppe while the Talking About... Series looks at ‘Training for Theatre in Ireland’, a panel discussion chaired by Dr Michael Finneran, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.
Full programme details available on www.baboro.ie The festival offers performances for both the general public and schools. For tickets contact the Town Hall Theatre on 091 - 569777, tht.ie, or www.baboro.ie
