Underbelly Festival To Host First Ever Family Fest Throughout Easter Holidays

Underbelly Festival Southbank boasts its biggest family programme ever in 2019, kicking off with the first ever Family Fest - running every day throughout the school Easter Holidays (6-22 April).

This feast of theatre, circus, music, comedy and variety performance includes Underbelly Festival's first headliner A Simple Space - a simply stunning display of stripped-back acrobatics with a sense of fun and free spirit that makes it perfect for the whole family (5 April-5 May).

Also playing is the acclaimed adaptation of The Gruffalo, The Witch and The Warthog with Julia Donaldson in which live readings from the legendary children's author bring her stories to life within a spectacular theatrical world (11-13 April).

Further theatrical wonderment to be found on the Family Fest stage includes a new theatrical adaptation of The Wind in the Willows (6-7 April) by award winning theatre company Box Tale Soup, featuring fantastic puppetry and a charming original score.

Following this comes AniMalcolm - the vibrant, energetic and gloriously funny musical from the award-winning Story Pocket Theatre written by comedy icon David Baddiel, which follows Malcolm, a Year Six boy who hates animals, but finds a strange and profound connection with them on a school trip to a farm (8 April).

Returning to the Southbank by popular demand is Shakespearience: the Bard's best-loved works burst into life in this high-octane, whistle-stop tour of three of Shakespeare's plays (11-12 April & dates throughout summer). For those looking to introduce youngsters to the Bard there's also Rubbish Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet, in which an all-male, all-silly troupe present an hour of multi-roling, wigs, water, and floppy swords. It's Shakespeare's most anarchic tragedy yet! (21 April).

Wrapping up this bumper holiday of family theatre is the mega hit from the makers of Aliens Love Underpants, MONSTERSAURUS! (15-22 April) follows young inventor Monty as he creates a whole world of whacky inventions and incredible monsters.

As well as theatre this spectacular line-up includes a unique range of shows which introduce the little ones to nearly every form of live entertainment; these include the ultimate singalong The Massaoke Family Show with a live-band performing hits from The Greatest Showman, Disney - including Frozen and Beauty and the Beast, pop megamixes from the likes of Ariana Grande, Katy Perry and Little Mix, and classics for the mums and dads (6-13 April).

The Showstoppers' Kids Show is an entirely improvised musical, a family iteration of the Olivier Award-winning West End sensation but fuelled entirely by the imagination of children: Harry Potter on the moon? Done! Peppa Pig and the Gruffalo meet dinosaurs inside a dolls house? No worries! (8 April and various dates throughout the summer).

Variety Club 4 Kids sees the makers of Comedy Club 4 Kids unearth an otherworldly range of comedy, circus, magic, music, thrills, skills, spectacle, silliness and SHENANIGANS from some of the UK's best variety performers (13 April & dates throughout summer). The family comedy sensation that is CC4K also returns on 22 April and throughout the summer.

Journey Through Jazz - from SwingDanceUK - is the perfect introduction to Jazz Dance for the little ones; from the Charleston to the Twist, experience these fascinating dances and their history is enjoyable for adults and children alike (14 April).

Chores (16-19 April) is a rip-roaring circus-comedy for the whole family, all the way from Australia: Two brothers must hurry to clean their room before their mum comes back. What could possibly go wrong?

An Underbelly Southbank institution, Morgan & West Utterly Spiffing Spectacular Magic Show for Kids (and Childish Grown-ups)! returns for a mind-boggling display of magic from the world's foremost time-travelling Victorian illusionists (21 April & dates throughout summer).

Rounding off the holidays, Dan & Bex enlist the help of the audience to crate the Best Radio Roadshow ever in The Fun Kids Epic Roadshow Adventure (22 April).

Although the Easter Holidays must end, the fun continues throughout the summer with other family shows at Underbelly Festival including the first ever stage adaptation of a CBeebies smash hit: Twirlywoos Live! - in which the producers of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show bring your favourite characters to life with beautifully innovative puppetry, mischief, music and plenty of surprises. (3-31 August).

Other favourites returning to the Southbank include The Amazing Bubble Man, Monski Mouse's Baby Disco Dance hall & brand-new Baby Cabaret, Shlomo's Beatbox Adventure for Kids, Trash Test Dummies, Arr We There Yet, The Noise Next Door, Elmer the Patchwork Elephant, Shark in the Park and so much more.

All of this takes place in the vibrant, child-friendly wonderland of Underbelly Festival Southbank, situated right on the banks of the Thames.

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