For Families in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire

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.

NEXT AVAILABLE IN APRIL 2021. Dates will be released on our website and social media channels.

Our Front of House performances are available free for families on specified dates. We aim to visit as many families as we can during a day, so places for performances are extremely limited, and are dependent on our ability to travel to you on our available date.

For Schools and Residential Care settings:

Our Front of House experience is available for “one-off” bookings for schools and residential care settings.

Initially devised to be performed outside and taken directly to people’s homes, we have successfully piloted these performances for larger groups of young people in existing bubbles in a care setting and a residential school. Each performance lasts for about 30 minutes, and we are able to provide up to three performances in a day.

To enquire about booking a Front of House experience, 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

FAQs

How will you be ensuring social distancing?

• The performances have been designed to ensure that our team can remain socially distanced from each other and from our audience, this includes all of our team members travelling separately where they are from different households.
• We want you to be where you will be most comfortable and get most enjoyment from the performance, whilst being able to maintain social distancing. We will talk to you in advance so that we can understand more about the set up of your home and the outdoor space; where you would like your family to experience the performance from (e.g. from inside with the windows open, or outside in your front garden etc).
• To ensure social distancing and in compliance with the new law regards social gatherings of no more than 6 people, we ask that any neighbours who may wish to enjoy the performance do so from their own fronts doors or gardens and we ask all participating families to ensure that they do not invite participants from outside the street where this would be in breach of the new law.

Bamboozle experiences are often hands on, how will you make sure that items are not touched by lots of people?

• This performance will not involve props etc being shared with or touched by the audience. It will be designed so that our team do not have to share materials unless they can be sanitised between use. Our team will be travelling with hand sanitiser so that they can keep their hands clean throughout the day.

Is there anything you need us to do?

• We hope that the performances will draw attention and brighten people’s day, but neighbours might be surprised if they are not expecting it. We will provide you with information to share with your neighbours, explaining what is happening and explaining how they can join in if they would like, whilst maintaining social distancing and legal responsibilities around gathering.
• We ask that you do not invite participants from outside the street where this would be in breach of the new law or present any risks in respect of social distancing.
• We will need to talk to you in advance to find out more about the space we will be able to perform in and practical considerations such as where our team will be able to park their cars.

What happens if the weather is bad?

• We will be providing shelter for our team, so that they can continue to perform whilst maintaining social distancing. We will not be able to provide cover for the audience, so the experience will have to adapted so that you can experience it indoors.
• We may have to vary the performance time to fit with the weather in the case of short downpours etc. and if the weather is very bad, such that the shelter for our team is not appropriate, then we may not be able to go ahead.

I still have questions

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.

“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.

About Rain Rain

Rain Rain is the autism-specific version of our original show Pulse, 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 autistic 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.

Watch this video to see our ‘relaxed’ version for inclusive audiences:

About Bamboozle’s shows for audiences on the autistic spectrum

Bamboozle’s productions for  audiences on the autism spectrum are designed to cater for groups of up to 6 children, aged 8-16, and their family groups or teachers and support staff. The shows accommodate the very wide range of abilities within the autistic 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

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 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

Further information and resources

Listen to our Rain Rain theme by artist Gren Bartley

Example of Visual Story

Rain Rain Companion Pack for Teachers and Support Staff

We are currently unable to tour  Rain Rain due COVID-19. We will update this information page when the production becomes available.

‘‘It was a magical, theatrical, atmospheric delight. Transporting our young people to a magical island, the interaction between actors and students created a unique shared experience.” Joni McAuliffe, The Avenue School

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Tempest, Storm tells the story of the magician Prospero, his apprentice Ariel and the creature Caliban.

Designed for children and young people who are on the autistic spectrum, this enchanting, intimate production has been carefully 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 elements of The Tempest and a limited amount of Shakespeare’s language, Storm tells a dramatic story of the sea, ships, islands and magic. Audience members will be welcomed into the performance space with relaxing music and during the performance will be invited to interact with the actors and the setting.

About Storm

Storm has toured UK schools, featured at the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, and toured to Shanghai and Egypt. A Chinese version of the show has been created in partnership with Shanghai Children’s Art Theatre.

About Bamboozle’s shows for audiences on the autistic spectrum:

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

In school settings these performances are suitable for children who may be described as hard-to-reach, where 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 am speechless. The performance excelled all expectations. It was fantastic. Never before have I watched a show that is so inclusive and adaptable to all needs. The intensive interaction applied was extremely inspiring”. Imogen Pearce, Radlett Lodge School

“Wow, it was breath-taking. A real privilege to watch our students so engaged and present in your show. To see their responses and even communicating with words they heard within the performance was magical. Thank you”. Aimee Robinson, Priory Woods School

“I couldn’t hope for a better, more sensitive, engaging performance. Fully immersive, totally exciting!!’’ Ian Bearcroft, Oakleigh 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 a short film about the show in a school setting

A short film of Storm at Hakawy International Arts festival for Children

Download our Companion Pack for Teachers and Support Staff

See an example of our Visual Story