Arts Organisations Step out of the Box with School
Holiday Adventure
Creatively bringing the
excitement of theatre into families’ living rooms during the summer holidays, arts
organisations The Dukes, Lancaster and the Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
have collaborated with theatre producers The Big Tiny to create a new
interactive theatrical experience for 7-12 year olds to enjoy at home.
Charlotte Holmes invites budding young sleuths to find clues and solve mysteries over the
course of seven days, with an Adventure Box packed with games, activities, puzzles
and links to online content and recorded performances with actors.
Set in 1940, Charlotte Holmes
follows the story of a young girl who has been evacuated during World War
II from London to Yorkshire, and takes inspiration from the legendary,
super-sleuth, Sherlock Holmes.
Interested families can
order an Adventure Box to be delivered directly to their front door for £25 by
visiting www.dukeslancaster.org or www.thelbt.org, whilst a Charlotte Holmes book
is also available from www.charlotteholmes.co.uk
With summer schools,
creative opportunities and the chance to enjoy live arts reduced this year
following the Covid-19 pandemic, the Charlotte Holmes Activity Box has
been developed as a fun, artistic and educational way to keep children
creatively engaged whilst away from schoolwork.
It also marks another digital
step forward for The Dukes and the Lawrence Batley Theatre, who both adapted
their artistic output into online platforms and interactive activities when
their buildings closed in March.
The Dukes launched Digital
Dukes, a virtual cultural space featuring masterclasses from the Dukes staff,
artistic opportunities and creative commissions, ranging from dance workshops
and photography challenges, to storytelling and story writing activities.
They have also provided
cinema content for their film audiences, as well as produced an activity blog
inspired by their dementia arts project Bring Me Laughter for participants and all
to try from home.
The Dukes Director, Karen O’Neill said: “The Dukes is excited to bring the
interactive theatrical adventure of Charlotte Holmes to families across
Lancashire and beyond. As an organisation, we are committed to bringing high
quality family theatre to our audiences and finding new ways to connect with
them during this time through our digital programme. We hope you will join in
the adventure.”
The Lawrence Batley Theatre have
also been prominent in digital engagement, having launched their own online
channel, LBTV, featuring workshops, activities and backstage videos, as well as
producing two online plays – The Understudy and Nigel Slater’s Toast –
which reached over 40 countries.
Henry Filloux-Bennett, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the Lawrence
Batley Theatre comments: “We are thrilled to be working alongside our friends at The
Big Tiny and the Dukes in Lancaster. Charlotte Holmes builds on the success
of our digital programme which has now reached over 20,000 views through our
ticketed online plays and free platform LBTV – allowing us to reach new audiences
by keeping young people and their families entertained and educated during the
summer holidays.”
Both venues were delighted
to team up with Greater Manchester-based theatrical imagineers, The Big Tiny. From
their workshops the company make and produce all manner of show content, from
puppets and pantomimes, to sets and scripts.
The Big Tiny’s
co-founders and producers Ben Richards and Will Cousins said: “We are
big believers that theatre should be entertaining and relevant for modern
audiences. We're very proud to be working with our partners at the LBT and the
Dukes to create Charlotte Holmes. It's exciting to be able to bring
something so innovative and creative to family audiences across the country”.
Just
one Charlotte Holmes Activity Box has everything needed for the whole family to
play along, and they’re available to purchase now to enjoy throughout the
summer.
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