creating possibilities for disabled children creating possibilities for disabled children
Register your interest in booking by filling in our Expression of Interest Form.
The River is Bamboozle’s newest show for students who might be described as having profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD).
Join us on a journey from the river’s source in the mountains as it flows downstream. Along the way you will encounter the river’s lively residents from an energetic salmon swimming against the current, a stately heron in her nest, a playful otter, dragonflies emerging from under the surface, and perhaps even spot an elusive Kingfisher!
You’ll meet a water goddess who brings mystical otherworldly music to the ferryman at work in his boat. A storyteller weaves together these moments along the rivers journey towards the ocean.
The show features an array of textures, from rippling silks to grassy bull rushes. Reflected light and water play at the start of the show conjure up the river’s source.
You will experience a variety of live music; instruments with tactile vibrations, alongside pre-recorded sound which create layers of atmosphere. Songs and sounds in the show range from evoking a jaunty playfulness on the surface to the strange eeriness of the under-water world.
The River 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.
“The most beautiful sensory spectacle! Everything from the music, puppetry and scenery was completely captivating and spellbinding. Watching our pupils immersed in the experience and the joy in their faces was utterly magical. It met all the sensory needs of our pupils with PMLD, I only wished it could have lasted another hour!” Hannah O-Mara, Birch Wood School
These shows are particularly suitable for children who use a wheelchair.
We’re able to provide up to 4 x 40 minute performances throughout the school day. Each show for a maximum group of 6 children.
Fee: £1265+VAT
Floor space required: 11m x 6m x 3m high minimum. Bamboozle’s requires exclusive use of the space for the duration of our visit.
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.
If you would like a show that has been specifically designed to cater for the needs of autistic children, we are developing a new production for February 2025. Please email jade@bamboozletheatre.co.uk to register you interest and find out more.
We are currently planning to produce a brand new autism-specific production to tour to schools in England in Spring term 2025. Our ideas and themes are currently in development and will be announced on here later this year. Register your interest in booking here.
For an insight into the experiences that our shows for autistic audiences provide, please take a look at our Storm and Moon Song show pages where you’ll find short films from the shows, along with resources that accompany our visits.
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.
“I couldn’t hope for a better, more sensitive, engaging performance. Fully immersive, totally exciting!!’’ Ian Bearcroft, Oakleigh School
Our shows are designed for children at all levels of the autism spectrum, including children who might be described as presenting behaviour which challenges us. This show can be adapted for individual sensory sensitivities by informing our team of any particular sensitivities ahead of performances.
Cost: £1425+VAT. Find out about methods of funding for your school here.
Recommended age range: 6 – 14 years.
Floor space required: 10m x 7m x 3.5m high minimum. We require exclusive use of the space for the duration of our visit.
Register your interest in booking our new production: fill in our online form which takes about 2 minutes.
If you have any queries before completing our form, please get in touch on 0116 255 2065, or email jade@bamboozletheatre.co.uk. Thank you.
“Amazing – awe-inspiring and thoroughly engaging. Beautiful and mesmerising. Thank you so much”. Lisa Boyes, Victoria Education Centre
Patience and Bird are waiting for rain in the dusty, dry heat of the American Dust Bowl when Clanky Jane arrives with her ‘Cloud-O-Matic’ rain making machine. Featuring captivating visual effects, puppetry, live music and a sprinkling of water, Rain Rain will immerse your children in a safe and engaging adventure.
This intimate show for just 6 children is specifically designed for audiences of children on the autistic spectrum. The actors are highly skilled at creating a welcoming and calm space where time is given to accommodate the particular needs of individual children. Parents can relax safe in the knowledge that Bamboozle has a well-earned world-wide reputation for creating theatre for children on the spectrum.
Rain Rain is the adapted version of our original show Pulse for autistic children, which was developed with the aim of creating a production with three different versions that were adaptable for the needs of our different audiences; disabled audiences with complex needs, those on the autism spectrum and inclusive audiences. Rain Rain toured to special schools through the UK in March 2020 – a tour which was sadly cut short due to the mounting risks of Coronavirus at the time – and was sent out again for a five week schools tour in Autumn 2022.
The cost for a school to book Rain Rain is £1,295.
We provide up to 4 x 40 minute performances (subject to the timings of the school day), with each performance catering for 4 – 6 pupils. (Group sizes will depend on pupils’ individual access needs, with a maximum of 4 pupils in groups who might be described as hard to reach to ensure a 1:1 ratio with members of the Bamboozle team).
To book please email jade@bamboozletheatre.co.uk, or call our office on 0116 255 2065 and ask for Jade or Jennifer.
Watch this video to see our ‘relaxed’ version for inclusive audiences:
Bamboozle’s productions for autistic audiences are designed to cater for groups of up to 6 children, aged 6-14, and their family groups or teachers and support staff. The shows accommodate the very wide range of abilities within the autism spectrum.
Bamboozle’s continuing research has highlighted the need for performances that are accessible to all levels of the spectrum including those children and young people who are described as being hard-to-reach or those who may present behaviour that challenges us.
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 and differing needs.
“Children who would not usually initiate independent exploration stood up and actively engaged in the scene. Vocalisations, words and phrases were made and said that are rarely heard in the classroom setting. A wonderful performance and I was overwhelmed by the response from our children! They thoroughly enjoyed it!” – Josie McGrath, Priory Woods School
“The show has it all: sensory stimulation, catchy songs and beats and beautiful participatory moments where each child felt important and like the only one in the room. A compelling story with a realistic message of hope and determination.
It brought me to tears to witness the children interact, laugh out loud, get lost in the show, overcome moments of fear, and ultimately have fun watching a show so accessible for them. There needs to be so much more arts accessible for everyone – it has possibility to create change and Bamboozle did that today”. Kathryn Oscier, Portfield School
This show can be adapted for individual sensory sensitivities by informing our team of any particular sensitivities ahead of performances.
Floor space required: 11m x 6m x 3m high minimum. Bamboozle’s requires exclusive use of the space for the duration of our visit.
The production features natural sensory materials including Children’s Play Sand mixed with organic cinnamon, diluted essential basil oil, (not applied directly to skin), cornflakes, rubber wellington boots and hessian sacks. The production also features some loud percussive sounds, and a light sprinkling of water over the audience.
Recommended age range: 8-16 years
The audience gathers. The music swells. The mist swirls. Anticipation. Then arriving in the playground the full-grown Firebird. Its five-metre wingspan hovers above the audience, circling, swooping and diving.
Based on the myths and legends of the Phoenix, this spectacular new production promises to bring an unforgettable experience into your school grounds or outdoor space. If you’d like to arrange a visit full of unique Bamboozle puppetry, comic characters and live music – including a chicken jazz band! – please get in touch.
Our Firebird tour has come to an end for 2022, however the show is available for one-off or multiple bookings. Please email info@bamboozletheatre.co.uk for further details.
Watch our Firebird trailer:
Which of my students will the show be suitable for and how many can access it?
Who is it suitable for? This show is devised for a wide range of learning-disabled students, including those sometimes described as SLD, MLD and some students on the autistic spectrum. While it is not specifically designed for those described as PMLD there will be Bamboozle’s customary mix of sensory possibilities, this will be more suitable for PMLD students who respond to sound, as there will be a lot of live and recorded music.
Who is it not suitable for? We will be working within Covid restriction guidance, so will not be able to offer close-up interactions in person. This will limit the possibilities for students described as PMLD who are visually impaired, though, as above, it will suit those who respond to sound. It is not suitable for those on the Autistic Spectrum who need to be able to move around freely nor for those with the sort of challenging behaviour that makes it difficult to guarantee calm observance of boundaries. This is because the actors will need to remain socially distanced from the audience. In addition: The Firebird and other puppets/props cannot be touched in the way Bamboozle shows normally accommodate for both Covid secure reasons and to avoid any unintentional damage.
How many can experience it? The show is designed to play to four class bubbles of any size. The climax of the production takes place outdoors, with all four class bubbles watching at the same time, so there must be a suitable outdoor space, large enough for you to safely distance the class bubbles.
What happens if it rains?
The performance will go ahead unless the Bamboozle team judge the weather to be so severe that it poses a safety risk. Therefore the school will need to ensure pupils have warm clothing, wet weather gear and umbrellas available to cope with the British summer! If you have a covered outdoor area, then we can also work with you to see how we could stage the performance such that the audience can stand under cover if the rains come.
This sounds great, what else do I need to know?
This experience is a unique one and will be different in each school, we will need to work closely with you to plan where and when each part of the action will unfold, please read The Firebird in your School to understand more about how the experience is likely to work across a school day.
More information
Download the Firebird – Companion Pack for Teachers Summer 2022
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