Greenwich Theatre in London Presents Children’s Festival 2025

This Spring, Greenwich Theatre will continue its commitment to championing family theatre year-round with the Greenwich Children’s Theatre Festival. Marking Greenwich Theatre’s dedication to platforming the UK’s leading family theatre companies and presented alongside a host of original tales and events for a wide range of ages, this year’s festival will include magical stage adaptations of beloved children’s books by Eric Carle, Julia Donaldson, Sara Ogilvie, and Bethan Woollvin. Celebrating 18 years of the highly anticipated festival, Greenwich Theatre will offer an unforgettable Easter day out for children and their grown-ups.

Kicking off April, There’s a Monster in Your Show (6th April) provides a high-energy adventure featuring lively original music by Tom Fletcher. This brand-new musical follows a group of performers whose show is swiftly disrupted by Little Monster, bringing comedy, chaos, and some mythical friends to this heartwarming story of friendship. toooB (7th April) is an enchanting wordless performance for 6–24-month-olds and their adults. Featuring an original soundtrack, captivating movement and a post-show stay and play session, the gentle sensory adventure is designed to be a perfect introduction to performance for little ones, encouraging empathy and playful interaction.

Moon On A Stick bring their signature style to Where’s Mrs Ladybird (8th -9th April), an interactive live hide and seek story for tiny people combining puppetry with mesmerising music. Three Little Vikings (9th April) is by the creator of the New York Times Best Illustrated Book Little Red and I Can Catch a Monster, Bethan Woollvin. Three brave little Viking girls save the day in this bold adventure story for little rebels, teaching children about cooperation, bravery, and finding their voice.

The whole family can discover a mystical world in Magical Honey (10th April). Featuring dance, magic, storytelling and live music, the tale focuses on Young Maya, who harnesses her own magic with the help of celestial being Saraswati and fights for the right to enjoy art.  Family favourite Fireman Sam Live! The Great Camping Adventure (12th April) follows the beloved children’s character Fireman Sam, as he bravely sets out on an animal adventure from Pontypandy to save a stranded Norman from a cave.

Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventure for Kids (13th April) will ignite the imaginations of budding musicians as world record-breaking beatboxer **SK Shlomo** takes to the Greenwich stage. This sell-out sensation has performed around the world with legends like Bjork, Ed Sheeran and Rudimental, and will delight audiences aged 1 to 101. Foan & Fortune presents an engaging and uplifting tale with Mess! (14th April). Audiences can join Princess Olive on a thrilling quest packed with original music, magic and comedy. This fantastical puppetry adventure is perfect for everyone who delights in making a mess.

Full House Theatre’s The Worst Princess (15th- 16th April) will bring families laugh-out-loud comedy, pop anthems, and a larger-than-life dragon. Princesses and knights can prepare to meet their new fire-breathing best friend in this imaginative adaptation of Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie’s bestselling picture book. The Detective Dog (17th–18th April) is a fast-paced celebration of books, reading, libraries, and the powerful, heartwarming relationship between a little boy and his special dog. Julia Donaldson and Sara Ogilvie’s charming tale of a dog with an extraordinary snout will thrill audiences of all ages with incredible puppetry, heartwarming music and magical scent technology.

Families can also spend the Easter weekend with the most famous caterpillar in the world, as four timeless stories are brought to life in The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show (19th–20th April). Created by Jonathan Rockefeller, the critically acclaimed show is a vibrant celebration of Eric Carle’s adored classics and the perfect introduction to live theatre.

Artistic Director James Haddrell comments, The Greenwich Children’s Theatre Festival has been a key part of our family programming since it launched in 2008. Moving from Easter to May and back again, moving around the borough, battling for funding during an Olympic year and transferring online during the pandemic, there hasn’t been a year in all that time with no festival. National tours have launched here, new shows have been developed, international companies have found their way here and new creative partnerships have been forged. Most importantly though, children have discovered a love of theatre at the festival, which always includes shows to introduce the very youngest theatregoers to the joy of live performance, and we have seen families return year on year. I look forward to welcoming familiar faces and new audiences alike in 2025.

Tickets for Greenwich Theatre’s unmissable family festival are available at  https://greenwichtheatre.org.uk/whats-on/.

Main Image: Courtesy of Greenwich Theatre