Kent’s Family Arts Festival offers high quality live theatre experiences despite the rain
The Everything team’s third annual trek up the hill to BOing was damp and a bit wet this year. However, it didn’t hinder this relaxed Family Arts Festival at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre and Kent University campus, and by bank holiday Sunday everything outdoors was up again and ready to go. Back to Saturday where the wet-weather programme was in full swing with lots of exciting workshops for curious, playful creatives, keen to make stuff in between the storms, and the packed programme of work on offer.
We dashed towards the Jarman Building, past Theatre Toupine’s incredible Bestiaire Alpin driftwood carousel, out of the drizzle and through the foyer, filled with upbeat live music from Toucan Theatre’s Cheeky Pirates. Our first stop was an invitation to a party hosted by our friends at Oily Cart, who are longtime sensory theatre pioneers. They were celebrating their latest ‘at home show’ InSideWays, which offers interaction with sounds, music, smells, light, colour, textures and tastes, all sent to the doors of people who otherwise might not have the opportunity to engage with theatre. It was also the birthday of their first Youth Associate, Lucy Bowen who explores the taste of sound in her music. The SideWays room for the event was an extension from the show; a sensory, interactive playspace including kinetic objects, sounds, tactile panels and some fabulous lighting that created colourful shadows, all of which visitors were invited to test out throughout the day, discovering more than five senses. We enjoyed talks about their international collaborations with Scen:se, Folkteatern Gävleborg and Estrad Norr, and Lucy played her instruments, accompanied by Oily Cart co-founder Max Reinhardt.
A special mention to Tiny Planet by Half a String – we love the team’s work and were glad to have caught the show earlier this year in London. It was great to see them back at home after a successful run at Edinburgh Fringe. We were also glad to spot the Gulbenkian Youth Theatre, undeterred by the weather and once again delivering their pop up energy all over campus. Our schedule meant that we couldn’t do an outdoor drop into a joyful sounding Fish Boy by 2facedDance, now relocated to their wet weather venue We also felt it for Race Horse Company who we spotted sat in their van, awaiting a time for their spectacular wheel of death to safely reignite the skyline with Spinsane.
On the plus side, all the outdoor tented events were blazing and we stopped by the Micro Shakespeare booths, a clever premise where groups of two audience members were either enjoying watching the storytelling through headphones, or moving objects by instruction without knowing why. Toti Toronell facilitated mostly adults during our session and my colleague enjoyed a clear telling of a familiar Shakespeare story through headphones whilst munching on some free popcorn. As the active performer, quick fire instructions were also relayed through headphones and there was a spontaneous scramble to find the props to move across the tiny stage. Although swapping roles to get both perspectives of the experience would have been fun, regrettably, this damp performer needed feeding, like many of the smaller attendees outside!
The Gulbenkian Cafe was packed full of families in brightly coloured waterproof jackets fuelling up and waiting for the next show by Coalesce Dance in the Gulbenkian Theatre. The Manchester-based dance company centres female stories of all kinds, to be told using the combined styles of floor based technique with full bodied fluidity and extension. This style is beautifully realised by artists Janice Ho and Luke Speddings in Mika and the Polar Bear, a story that looks at themes of environmental disaster and forced displacement for ages 5+ children and their families. The picture-book set is clean and simple and after the overwhelm of a crowded space, provided a calm visual moment to reset. The thrust theatre space is deceptive, seemingly intimate, and yet the stage is deep. So although the glacial set and puppetry (Bek Palmer) sat well at a visual distance, it felt like a more intimate experience might have elevated the narrative arc with feelings beyond the skilled choreography (Fern Wareham & Rachel Moffei).
Photo: Elly Wellford
Our indoor day started with gentle, inclusive sensory wonder and ended with a high-octane, contemporary circus and street theatre company from Belgium, specialists in site-specific, parkour-based, and participatory performances. After an EasyJet-esque festival herding of the audience into Group A and Group B, we entered Colyer Fergusson Buildingto take our circus seats on two sides of a huge drape, echoing the experimental premise of missing out in Double You by Be Flat.
Photo: Kathie Danneels
The dynamic group of acrobats and performers blend urban sports, acrobatics and live music, notably transforming everyday outdoor spaces and interacting directly with urban architecture. This made sense of the incredible energy, focused indoors, from the male ensemble who brought their seemingly chaotic delivery perilously close to the front rows of the young audience. By using European styles of grotesque bouffon alongside breathtaking acrobatic sequences, it reminded an audience to feel, gasp and squeal at the danger of it all as they became involved in a masterclass in human impulse. The highly disciplined and wild deconstruction of the circus ring felt liberating, and whether there were concerns about age suitability or around safety, there is no denying that the five performers were extraordinary and their harmonious chanting served to remind us that we can feel the fear and do it anyway.
Last year we said “Funding for theatre for young audiences is facing significant challenges so it was joyful to participate in a festival that recognises the crucial role of TYA.” bOing continues to offer opportunities for children, young people and their families to access high quality live theatre experiences that are free or affordable. This year, despite the weather on Saturday 29 August, the festival was well attended, with families enjoying free events and packed audiences for all the indoor shows that we joined. There is STILL a huge following for cultural activity in Kent. It is encouraging to see that many of the theatre shows are touring to other communities and positively storming mainstream programming..
The bOing Festival has finished for 2026 but you can keep up with their work for next year on Instagram. and links
