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creating possibilities for disabled children

The image shows the puppet Bird, held by Patience approach one of our young audience members who reaches out to touch the feathers on Bird's head.

“A truly engaging, sensory performance.  Can’t praise this enough!” Priory Woods School, Donna Hawkins

We are delighted to be re-touring Pulse to schools from 11th March – 3rd May 2024.

Join Patience, Buddy and Zach who are waiting for rain in the dusty, dry heat of the American Dust Bowl.

Patience lives in a shack next to the railroad, emptying dust out of bowls meant for water. A train passes… travelling to a distant place. Patience’s friend Bird visits for a few crumbs from her pocket.

Same thing yesterday, same thing today…

Only today is different. Clanky Jane arrives with the ‘Cloud-O-Matic’. Patience, Zach and Buddy help Clanky Jane to activate the machine with crazy percussion, and a little bit of magic.

Featuring live music with tactile vibrations, alongside pre-recorded sound, plus captivating visual effects, puppetry, and a sprinkling of water, Pulse will immerse your children in a safe, engaging and atmospheric adventure.

Our team facilitate gentle 1:1 interaction with our audience members, presenting an array of sensory props and natural materials which are brought up close for our audience, creating possibilities for engagement. We provide high levels of focussed attention and are lead by our audience’s responses, tailoring the performance for their individual needs.

“The students each gained new experiences from the show, personalised to their level and it was wonderful to be given the opportunity to sit back and simply observe. A BIG thank you … a truly special event”. Addington School, S. L. Margel

Please note this film shows a relaxed family performance in a theatre setting rather than our intimate in-school performances.

About Bamboozle’s shows for disabled audiences with complex needs:

Pulse is an intimate show for just 6 children and is specifically designed for children who might be described as having profound and multiple learning disabilities, along with their family groups or teachers and support staff.

Performances are tailored to each child’s needs by a team of Bamboozle performers who are highly experienced in adapting to, and interacting with, children and young people who have a variety of complex needs.

What you need to know

These shows are particularly suitable for children who use a wheelchair.

Floor space required: 11m x 6m x 3m high minimum. Bamboozle’s requires exclusive use of the space for the duration of our visit.

Information on our audience numbers and performance times coming soon.

Booking fee: £1149+VAT

Recommended age range: 6 – 14 years.

Our productions designed for disabled audiences with complex needs have often been enjoyed by older teenagers and young adults, and may be suitable for some younger audience members. We can look at catering for these different age ranges by prior arrangement.

To register your interest, please complete are Expression of Interest Form or if you have any questions, email jade@bamboozletheatre.co.uk. Thank you.

If you would like a show that has been specifically designed to cater for the needs of autistic children, please take a look at our autism specific productions.

The Backyard: The Wildings

“The Wildings has been created for autistic children & young people. It is a beautifully inclusive natural space, where the whole family can relax, explore and express themselves in an environment that is playful, and free from judgement or expectation.” – Dawn Bowden, Bamboozle Artist

 

The Wildings is as experience which we developed at The Bamboozle Backyard – a wildlife plot on an allotment site in Leicester. It is an oasis of calm and creativity waiting to be explored and brought to life during The Wildings sessions. The Wildings are sessions led by Bamboozle artists where the family can escape the busyness and stresses of modern life and take a breath.

“Instant relaxation!  Anxiety ebbs away rapidly. The magic of the location, and the wonderful people involved are a magical combination. Like walking into a daydream!”  Vicky Davies, parent.

During these sessions, you and your child will be encouraged to relax and recharge alongside the artists, who will skilfully provide a safe and engaging space to explore the natural elements within the site.

Each session will be organic in the way it develops and will be age-appropriate and child-led. The artists will pretend to be quirky characters with whom the children can choose to engage with, and explore ideas and activities. They can make potions, float stones or make mud soup!

The children can, if they choose to, follow their own ideas within a playful, fun environment.

This experience has recently been adapted for Festival settings and Forest School environments. If you’d like to enquire about bringing The Wildings to your outdoor space, please email info@bamboozletheatre.co.uk.

We continue to run FREE Wildings sessions for families at our Bamboozle Backyard in Leicester during certain school holidays.

>> To find out more and our current availability, please click here.

Would you like to get a postcard from the Backyard?

During the Winter months when we aren’t able to run our Backyard sessions in person, we’re sending a bit of Backyard to your home!

>> Join our Hibernation Series activities here.

Thank you to our funders!

The Might Creatives’ Creative Community Fund

Originally created with investment from The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust

Re-Wilding Characters you might meet

                 Aurora Sue                                    Mac George                                        Little Wing

               Aurora Dawn                                     Tayosong                                            Grace          

Our Front of House performances are designed to bring a burst of live music and colour to your front door!

Our performances provide a 30-minute set of acoustic and electric songs from a team of three musicians and a technician. The team arrive and set up a festival-themed performance area in either a front of back garden, or on street outside your house.

Front of House performances have been designed to ensure that our team can remain socially distanced from each other and from our audience. In order to for us to set up, we’ll need room to put up a 3m x 3m gazebo, with at least another 3m in front of the gazebo, and a meter either side for speakers.

If weather permits, families can sit outside to enjoy the performance, or remain inside the home to enjoy the music, e.g. this set up is recommended if you and your family are shielding, or if social distancing might present an issue for your children.

We encourage neighbours to listen in from a safe distance, too, whether in their own gardens or from their doorsteps. We will provide flyers that you can put through letterboxes to notify neighbours about our visit in advance. 

We are currently resting our Front of House project, and will update this page when the project goes out again. 

For any enquiries, please email: jennifer@bamboozletheatre.co.uk.

What families have said about our Front of House performances

“A special privilege of having a private concert on our front garden! My daughter laughed and danced and it felt so special to have those memories”. Andrea, parent

“I was humbled by the effort Bamboozle had gone to specifically to entertain my daughter. Our neighbours were thrilled to be invited and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was really lovely to see and be able to talk to people we hadn’t had any face to face contact with for some considerable time. It brightened up our weekend and lifted our spirits”. Iona, parent

“My daughter absolutely loved the performance, which was truly unique and something she hadn’t experienced before. She loved the fact that the performance was taking place in her garden and so she didn’t have the anxiety she would normally experience going out to a venue to see it. Tess, parent

“Amazing experience, so special just for our family. Unforgettable” Judith, parent

“It was something extremely special for my daughter as she has been shielding. It was a way of keeping her connected to the things she loves through this tricky time. Her visual difficulties mean she struggles to access things via a screen so this was perfect for her”. Joanne, parent

What you need to know

Recommended age range: flexible

Possible triggers: Loud music (volume can be altered as appropriate).

Download visual story

See an example of our flyer for neighbours

 

Please contact us via info@bamboozletheatre.co.uk and we will respond either via email or with a phone call if that is more suitable.

Photos of Bamboozle's AS production Moon Song at Shanghai Children's Art Theatre. An actress listens to the voice on a young audience member through a long silver tube.
Photo credit: Moon Song at Shanghai Children’s Art Centre, 2019

“It was magical to see how the pupils engaged with the show. The staff are so highly skilled and adjusted to every students’ needs”. Antonia Peters, Lakeside School.

Moon Song tells the story of Megan who falls asleep dreams of going to the moon where she encounters silvery creatures, flying saucers and shooting stars. Welcomed into the performance with relaxing music, audience members are invited to join Megan on a space-themed adventure.

This enchanting, intimate production is designed to put audience members at ease throughout, giving them space and time to move freely and experience the show in their own way.

Using Bamboozle’s calm approach, incorporating invitation and interaction, this sensory show caters for groups of six autistic children along with their families and carers or school staff.

About Moon Song:

Moon Song has toured to UK schools and theatres and toured internationally to Shanghai Children’s Art Theatre.

About Bamboozle’s shows for autistic audiences:

These performances are intimate shows for a maximum group size of 6 children accompanied by their teachers, carers, or family group.

In school settings, we accommodate smaller group sizes of four audience members to enable a 1:1 ratio with our team of four performers.

Maintaining small audiences enables our team to provide a high level of focussed attention and the opportunity for intensive interaction. Each moment will be tailored to each child’s needs by a team of Bamboozle performers who are highly experienced in adapting to, and interacting with, children and young people who have a variety of complex and differing needs.

“Fantastic! Our students find everyday a challenge, often needing constant direction and support to keep themselves and others safe. Your performances allow our students freedom to be themselves and for us to observe them in a place they can connect and understand”. Alex Sawyer, Yeoman Park School.

“Very moving – it was incredible to see the actors interact with the children and the time that was taken to give attention to each child individually. It really felt like a safe space was created where the children could join in and express themselves”. Nosheen Rara, Phoenix Primary and Secondary School.

What you need to know

This show can be adapted for individual sensory sensitivities by informing our team of any particular sensitivities ahead of performances. The show includes moments of loud acoustic music, loud voices and interactive props.

Recommended age range: 6 – 14 years

Further information and resources

Watch our short film about the show

  Watch our longer film (20 minutes) with commentary from Artistic Director, Christopher Davies.

Listen to our Moon Song theme by artist Tayo Akinbode.

Moon Song Companion Pack for Teachers and Support Staff

 

 

 

 

Unit 10 St Mary's Works | 115 Burnmoor Street | Leicester LE2 7JL | 0116 255 2065
Registered Charity Number: 1136157 | Registered in England and Wales.
Company No. 7193792