Half Moon Theatre's TEN IN THE BED Explores The Child Refugee Experience

A humorous and inventive new show for ages 3-8 that sensitively explores the child refugee experience, where the power of invention offers an escape from reality, opens at Moon Theatre, East London, on Saturday 4 May 2024 ahead of a national tour. The show returns to Half Moon from Tuesday 4 to Tuesday 11 June 2024.

Ten in the Bed, by award-winning teenage fiction writer Steve Tasane (Child I, Blood Donors), celebrates the power of imaginary play and proves there's always enough room to have fun, even when the world is at its most daunting. It is the latest production from Half Moon, the UK's leading small-scale young people's venue and touring company, winner of four Off West Theatre Awards for Young Audiences.

Ten in the Bed follows Naz and Iggy and their eight friends. Their bed is a place where imagination can fill their tummies with tasty treats and take them to familiar warm places. Well, sometimes. Join the boat-bed's disparate crew as they dream up playful tales of pirates, misunderstood sharks and fishing trips that hook some unexpected catches. But what happens if the bed is not big enough to fit everyone in? How do they decide who gets to stay and who has to go?

Steve Tasane, the writer of Ten in the Bed, said: "I wanted to write a play for young children that would delight and entertain, but with a serious underlying message that would be felt rather than told. I wanted the boys in the bed to be the agents of their own recovery, to take charge of life events that had always been totally out of their control; for the boys to reconstruct their own narrative - the story of the refugee journey. A journey that ends with full bellies, a roomful of toys and - crucially - a bed which always has enough space for them all to sleep easy and warm."

Steve continues: "Ten in the Bed is about how play, laughter and imagination creates a home. At the beginning of the play, the boys in the bed are hungry and timid; they are a little bit lost. They know where they've come from, but have no idea where they are. As they relive their journey through silliness and play, the room they have found themselves in comes to feel warmer, more welcoming. As they play together, and bond through their nighttime adventures, they increasingly feel at home. Laughter overcomes fear; games make the boys feel stronger together. For the weak, the tiny, the hungry, the only tool they have with which to protect themselves, is laughter."

The 50-minute story is told by two performers, Hari Kang (Naz) and Hayden Mampasi (Iggy). Hayden is currently playing Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (until 13 April 2024) at The Globe Theatre, London, and won the 2022 Black British Theatre Best Supporting Male Actor Award for Passion Fruit. Ten in the Bed has direction by Chris Elwell, design by Sorcha Corcoran, composition and sound design by Mark Newnham, lighting design by Emily Walls and assistant direction and technical stage management by Rori Endersby.

Ten in the Bed was developed in 2021 as part of Half Moon's Narratives of Empathy and Resilience art form development programme, to create stories that reflect our diverse community, as well as support under-represented artists in developing their practice.

TOUR DATES 2024

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