WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT to Launch UK Tour

The smash-hit production of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt will open in London at artsdepot, North Finchley on Friday 13 & Saturday 14 October, before heading out to Leicester Curve from Tuesday 17 to Sunday 22 October and Southampton MAST Mayflower Studios from Thursday 26 to Sunday 29 October, ahead of a 4-week Christmas season at the Lowry in Salford from Thursday 7 December to Sunday 7 January. The show will then play Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 January and then go on to further UK and international dates next spring. Music, laughter, rhymes, rhythms and repetitions together with puppetry, paint, water and mud - not to mention a bear – we’re not scared! – make this fun-filled adventure the perfect theatrical outing for all young families. This show “celebrates ‘play’ in every mischievous sense of the word” (GUARDIAN).

Join their intrepid family of adventurers and their musical dog as they wade through the swishy swashy grass, the splishy splashy river and the thick oozy squelchy mud, in search of a bear. Expect plenty of interaction and a few surprises along the way.

Sally Cookson’s hugely inventive production set to Benji Bower’s lively musical score is a mischievous celebration of play, utilising everyday objects and materials to capture the imagination and propel audiences into the world of Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury’s much loved picture book.

Michael Rosen says of the live theatre show: ''This production of We're Going on a Bear Hunt takes everyone on the journey - not under, not over, oh no - through it! - in a funny, exuberant and loving way. It's a show full of laughter, music, silliness and thrills that I promise you will excite and delight all young children. This is a must-go show.”

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is presented by Kenny Wax Family Entertainment and is created by the critically acclaimed production team including director Sally Cookson, composer Benji Bower, designer Katie Sykes, lighting designer Tony Simpson, sound designer Jason Barnes, associate director and puppet designer Marc Parrett.

2023-24 UK Tour Dates	Venue	Booking Link
Fri 13 – Sat 14 Oct	LONDON artsdepot, North Finchley	BOOK NOW
Tue 17 - Sun 22 Oct	LEICESTER Curve	BOOK NOW
Thu 26 - Sun 29 Oct	SOUTHAMPTON MAST Mayflower Studios	BOOK NOW
Thu 7 Dec - Sun 7 Jan	SALFORD Lowry Christmas Season	BOOK NOW
Thu 18 - Sun 21 Jan	CARDIFF Wales Millennium Centre	BOOK NOW
Fri 23 - Sun 25 Feb	Newcastle Theatre Royal	BOOK NOW

More dates to be announced. Morning & matinee performances available.

Access Performances:

Curve, Leicester	BSL:	Thu 19 Oct, 2pm
	Relaxed:	Sun 22 Oct, 11am
MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton	Relaxed:	Fri 27 Oct, 10.30am
	BSL:	Sat 28 Oct, 1.30pm
The Lowry, Salford	Relaxed:	Wed 13 Dec, 1pm
	Audio Described:	Thu 14 Dec, 10.30am
	BSL:	Sat 16 Dec, 1pm
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff	BSL:	Thu 18 Jan, 2pm
	Relaxed:	Sat 20 Jan, 1pm
Theatre Royal, Newcastle	BSL:	Fri 23 Feb, 1pm
	Relaxed:	Sun 25 Feb, 11am

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Live on Stage celebrates its 15th anniversary this year.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, is the winner of various awards including the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. A star-studded animated film version of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt was shown on Christmas Eve 2016 on Channel 4.

Sally Cookson - Director and Adapter

Cookson’s most recent theatre works include the upcoming Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning (National Theatre of Scotland and Aberdeen Performing Arts in association with Belgrade Theatre, Coventry), A Monster Calls (The Old Vic), The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Bridge Theatre). For Kenny Wax her credits include La Strada and Hetty Feather (Olivier Award nominated). For The National Theatre her credits include Jane Eyre, Peter Pan (both co-productions with Bristol Old Vic). She is an Associate Artist at Bristol Old Vic, where her productions include Jane Eyre, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Treasure Island, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Papa Please Get the Moon for Me, Clown, Strange Case, Pericles, Pains of Youth, The Visit. Her numerous collaborations with Travelling Light theatre include Strictly Balti, The Ugly Duckling, Boing!, How Cold My Toes, Shadowplay, Cloudland, Lenny, Bob the Man on the Moon. For Tobacco Factory her credits include One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Cinderella - A Fairy-tale (Olivier Award nominated). Other theatre includes Romeo and Juliet (Rose Theatre Kingston), Stick Man and Tiddler and other Terrific Tales (Scamp Theatre).

Kenny Wax Family Entertainment

Kenny has produced some of the best family theatre both in the West End, on tour and around the world. Productions include Olivier Award winner Hey Duggee The Live Theatre Show, Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World, Identical, Tom, Dick and Harry, Bugsy Malone, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Around the World in 80 Days, What the Ladybird Heard, Oi Frog & Friends! (Olivier Award nominated), Mr Popper’s Penguins, the stage adaptations of Jacqueline Wilson’s Hetty Feather (Olivier Award nominated) and Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch (Olivier Award winner for ‘Best Family Show’). SIX is Kenny’s smash-hit musical in the West End, on a UK tour, in Australia, and on Broadway. Kenny has also produced several shows with comedy troupe Mischief including The Play That Goes Wrong, Magic Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong and The Comedy About a Bank Robbery. He is also an Executive Producer of the incredibly popular TV series The Goes Wrong Show.

Illustrations © 1989 Helen Oxenbury from We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

Show website www.bearhuntlive.com

Social media handles @bearhuntlive

Running time: 55 minutes, no interval        Most suitable for ages 3+

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