The Little Whale and the Beautiful Galaxy

An early years project at Stoneyholme Primary School delivered by Horse and Bamboo Theatre Company, which used music, shadow, lights and puppetry to engage children in a new and inspiring creative experience. Staff at the school had identified creative development in early years as an area they were keen to improve, and used the process of the project to ask the question ‘Is language a barrier to creativity?’ It became apparent early on in the project that some children who did not normally participate in creative activity or contribute to lessons were able to engage in the non-verbal performance sessions and interactive experiences that Horse and Bamboo provided.

Jo and Chris introduced all the children in the three year groups to different types of puppets and music, allowing to experiment with new art forms. This initial session was followed by a performance of ‘Storm in a teacup’ where the children were able to experience the same types of puppets, music and masks in a professional performance.

For the third stage of the project, each teacher chose six children to participate in further workshops during which the children participated in a sensory experience, with their playroom magically transformed into a cold and icy place. The children played with lights and shadows, made snow and snowballs and had snowball fights, made sounds to create a mood and devised simple stories based in this magic land.

When asked if they would like to show what they had done to their classmates, all of the pupils said ‘yes!’ and over a period of two days the children invited their classmates to participate in the experience.

The project was complex and quite stressful at times for both practitioners and teachers, but all agreed it was worth it in the end. The children had a fabulous experience, were inspired and engaged, took risks and grew in confidence and will remember the project for a long time.

‘What kind of children would live in a place like this?’

‘Frozen ones!’

Visit www.horseandbamboo.org to find out more about their work and to see images from their ‘Storm in a Teacup’ show

Photos taken by Richard Weltman of picturesforpress