Celebrating its 21st year of “putting children at the forefront of theatre and arts”, Leicester’s Spark Festival for Children will return in 2024 with opportunities for children to “give it a go” at activity-based workshops.
The festival has been created with the help of self-named “mega bosses”, a group of eight- to 13-year-olds from all over Leicestershire guided by artist Pasha Kincaid. They said they did not just want to watch great theatre and art—they wanted to take part too.
A key to the festival is the inclusion of dance and theatre productions that engage young audiences with the performing arts and “focus on expression, empowerment and diversity”.
Christopher Gorry, artistic director at festival organisers Spark Arts, said, “it seems right in the Spark Festival’s 21st year that we place children at the heart of the decision-making. The ‘mega bosses’ of Spark have really clear ideas about how they want the festival to serve the children of Leicester now and into the future. This festival marks the beginning of that journey.
“We’re thrilled to be able to bring so many free-to-attend workshops and events to this year’s festival while still providing local audiences in theatre and in schools access to some truly amazing productions and experiences from world-class artists.”
Performance highlights of the festival include toooB, an “enchanting wordless show for six- to 24-month-olds and their grown-ups” at the Y Theatre on Friday 24 May, and The Sticky Dance, an immersive and interactive dance performance for families with young children which will be staged at Attenborough Arts Centre on Saturday 25 May.
The festival will run from Saturday 18 until Saturday 25 May. The full programme is available at the Spark Arts for Children web site.