“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 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.

Cost:

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:

About Bamboozle’s shows for autistic 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

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.

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

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

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.