Imaginations at the ready…
Got a 2-5 year old with a gaggle of invisible friends or their own world hidden away inside their imagination?
Or maybe your tot needs a little help creating their own adventure?
Regardless, they could probably do with some time sans screens.
Imagine & Play is a series of interactive, multi-sensory drop-in sessions that use drama, music, movement, storytelling and art to unlock the endless potential for play.
Led by theatre practitioner Amari Harris, sessions are held at Theatre Peckham and suitable for all children of all abilities.
221 Havil Street,
London SE5 7SB.
Thursdays, 11:45am – 12:30pm.
Admission: £5.
www.theatrepeckham.co.uk/show/imagine-play/
Dancing in the deep blue sea
Experience the magic of a dance-theatre spectacle through the eyes of your tiniest tot as Underwater comes to Wimbledon’s Polka Theatre.
Suitable for babies aged 0-2, the multi-sensory show stuffed full of stimuli will take them into the depths of the ocean, where wavy blues, glossy bubbles and an octopus await.
There’s a story-line involving a ballerina, but it doesn’t matter if this goes over their heads and they fall asleep listening to a twinkling soundtrack conjure sounds of the sea.
Polka Theatre,
240 The Broadway,
London, SW19 1SB.
November 9 – 20, performances last 35-40 minutes and the start time varies.
Admission: £9
www.polkatheatre.com/event/underwater/
Storytime for under 5s
Calling all wrigglers: Brixton’s Tate Library hosts weekly storytelling sessions for little ones aged under five.
Take your seats for a gripping story, broken up by songs and rhyme.
Fidgeting is welcome and joining in is very much encouraged. Parents are welcome to take part too.
Brixton Oval,
London SW2 1JQ.
Tuesdays, 10am – 11am.
Admission: FREE.
www.beta.lambeth.gov.uk/events/under-5s-storytime-wriggle-rhyme-sessions.
Over the moon
The Moon Hares is pitched as an opera for families, but wait.. before you go ‘pfft, that’ll never interest my kids!’, hear us out: it’s full of energy and there’s a LOT going on, with over 100 performers on stage including the hard-working musicians of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment supporting the show.
Set in a mysterious village where inhabitants are bound by strict rules and regulations, it takes the arrival of a new teacher to shake things up, letting her children explore nature at nighttime and live like wild animals.
As for what happens next, you’ll have to see the show to find out…
Southbank Centre,
Belvedere Road,
London SE1 8XX.
November 2, 7pm.
Admission: £10 – £82.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/moon-hares?eventId=905587
Halloween at the Horniman
The Horniman Museum is embracing the gentler side of Halloween, hosting a family-friendly fair on October 29, with plenty of activities to engage and excite little minds.
They can get their face painted like a gory ghoul or mystic witch, then steel themselves for a breathtaking ride on a giant inflatable slide.
Look out for Nyko the Magician, who will make even the most eagle-eyed gasp with the tricks up his sleeve.
Got a budding scientist in your care? Don’t miss Einstein’s Entertainers Halloween Science Spectacular, featuring vomiting pumpkins and bubbles of fire.
If yours are more creative, enrol them in an arts & crafts session, where they can fashion something spooky to wear on the Halloween Parade set to drift through the museum’s gardens.
Dress in your scariest costume and get practising your ‘boo!’.
Horniman Museum,
100 London Road, London SE23 3PQ.
October 29, 10:30am – 4:30pm.
Admission: £5/FREE for under 16s.
www.horniman.ac.uk/event/halloween-fair/
