Imaginate Children’s Festival 2025 – Accessible performances

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The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl by Vee Smith and Sadiq Ali – Accessible performances

BSL interpreter: Karen Forbes
Fri 23 May 18:45 @Tramway, Glasgow
Tue 27 May 19:00 @ Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh
BSL video: https://youtu.be/sGxF_ysp5bs

Age: 8-15 yrs
Running time: 55 min (no interval) + 10 min Q&A after the performance (BSL interpreted)

Two friends perform breathtaking aerial shows. They fly, spin, hang from the rooftops and fall out of the sky…

But they weren’t always so glorious. How did they transform from feeling like outsiders, unable to fit in, to the fantastical creatures they always knew they had inside them?

The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl is the touching story of a girl who wants to be a monster and a boy who wants to fly. Exploring the universal yearning to belong and sharing the joy of friendship, this is a dynamic and visually stunning aerial show.

Creative team:
Co-Creator: Sadiq Ali
Co-Creator: Vee Smith
Dramaturg & Co-creator: Gill Robertson
Movement Director: Junior Cunningham
Costume Designer: Cleo McCabe
Sound Designer: Guy Veale
Set Designer: Jen McGinley
Lighting Designer: Jamie Heseltine
Technical Manager: Bryn Jones
Producer: Louise Gilmour-Wills
Artist Mentor: Rishi Trikha

This show is commissioned by Imaginate, produced by Catherine Wheels, in association with the National Theatre of Scotland and supported by Assembly. Funded through the Scottish Government’s Festivals Expo Fund, development funded by Creative Scotland.

The Show for Young Men by GuestHouse Project – Accessible performances

On a stage, a theatrical production unfolds against a backdrop of a corrugated metal fence, illuminated by sparse lighting that highlights three imposing coils of thick, black pipe. The pipes stand at varied heights: one laid at a diagonal, one tall, and one ground-hugging. A person dressed in a vibrant red jumpsuit strikes a pose to the left, arms reaching upward in an apparent attempt to catch a sky-high blue pipe suspended above. To the right, across from the pipes, another individual in a blue jumpsuit mirrors the motion, their hands mirroring the upward stretch, as if in accompaniment. Adding an element of whimsy to the stark metal landscape are other pipes, scattered across the setup in an array of colors – green, blue, purple, and yellow. These chromatic punctuations, along with the dynamic postures of the performers, offset the scene's solemn pipes and utilitarian backdrop.

BSL interpreter: Cameron Bruce
Sat 31 May 18:00 @ The Studio at Capital Theatres, Edinburgh
BSL video: https://youtu.be/vzkPjjkItiM

Age: 8-14 yrs
Running time: 50 min (no interval)

The Show for Young Men is a funny and moving dance performance about friendship between a man and a boy.

They meet on a building site at dawn. Robbie (45) is here to work. Alfie (11) is here to have fun. Using playground games, risk-taking and mischief, they dance and play together, discovering that there are many ways to be brave and kind – both as a boy and as a man. 

Directed by Eoin McKenzie in collaboration with Robbie Synge and young performer Alfie, the show explores familiar and unexpected ideas about masculinity, connections and friendship.

Creative Team:
Director: Eoin McKenzie
Producer: Isy Sharman
Performer: Robbie Synge
Stage Manager: Siân McGregor
Production Manager: Craig Fleming
Set Designer: Rachel O’Neill
Sound Designer: Greg Sinclair
Lighting Designer: Katharine Williams
Movement Consultant: Aya Kobayashi

Tongue Twister by Greg Sinclair and Scottish Theatre Producers – Accessible performances

A man is shown from the chest up against a gray studio backdrop. The man wears a blue knit sweater with teal green triangles, and a pink knit hat shaped like a flower with many petals. The petals surround the man's face, with a ring around the visible part of the man's face. The man's skin is fair, and his wide eyes are light blue. He appears surprised.

Relaxed Performance:
Fri 30 May 10:45 and Sat 31 May 11:00 @ North Edinburgh Arts, Edinburgh

Audio recording:
An audio recording describing the costumes, set, video design and staging will be available before the show.

Touch tour is available pre-performance on Fri 30 May 10:45 and Sat 31 May 11:00 – to be requested in advance by emailing info@imaginate.org.uk

Age: 6 – 12 yrs
Running time: 50min (no interval)

Tongue Twister is one man’s attempt to say tongue twisters in as many different languages as possible. Whilst also trying to dance. And make music. And do all the costume changes without leaving the stage.

A delight for the eyes and ears, created and performed by award-winning performance artist and musician Greg Sinclair, and featuring dazzling costumes and innovative visual design.

Humorous, colourful, rhythmical and odd, Tongue Twister is a celebration of the musical beauty of language.

Creative Team:
Creator and performer: Greg Sinclair
Costume designer: Alison Brown
Director: Lu Kemp
Scenographer: Rachel O’Neill
Movement Director: Hannah Venet
Video Designer: Lucas Chih-Peng Kao
Composer and Sound Designer: Ben Fletcher
Lighting Designer: Michaella Fee
Producer: Sarah Gray
Production Manager: Suzie Normand
Production Manager: Craig Fleming

Commissioned by Imaginate, in partnership with Aberdeen Performing Arts, in association with Showbox Festival and Kloden and supported by North Edinburgh Arts. Funded through the Scottish Government’s Festivals Expo Fund.

In a theatrical stage performance, a man is climbing a pole while a large, costumed, horse-headed figure sits at the very top. The stage is dark, creating a dramatic effect, with different colored stage lighting - green to the left of the seated figure and a yellowish orange to the right of the climber. The green light casts a cool, alien glow on the towering figure, while the yellowish light adds warmth and contrast to the climber's effort. The seated figure wears a body suit, with a horse head piece. Its form is draped with additional fabric. It has been staged to look like it's sitting right on the pole. The climber is dressed in a shiny shirt, dark patterned trousers, and a layered epaulette-like garment that features petal-like accents. The climber's face is upturned in what appears to be a determined effort to reach the top.

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