Press Release: Sadler's Wells Family Weekend

[Jan McNulty]

Family Weekend

Constelaciones & Varmints   

Sadler’s Wells & Lilian Baylis Studio

Friday 3 & Saturday 4 April 2015

Performances: Varmints at 2pm & 5pm on Fri and 12.30pm on Sat, Constelaciaones at 2pm & 5pm on Sat

Tickets: Varmints £7 - £12 | Constelaciones £8 - £16 | Family Dance workshops £2

Ticket Office: 0844 412 4300 or www.sadlerswells.com

 

Family Weekend is Sadler’s Wells’ annual two-day festival of family friendly events, which has run since 2008 and includes captivating performances and activities happening throughout the building, offering entertainment for all ages. This year’s festival takes place on Friday 3 & Saturday 4 April 2015.

Varmints is based on the award-winning book by Helen Ward with illustrations by Marc Craste, which tells the poignant tale of one small creature’s struggle to preserve a world in danger of being lost forever. It runs in the Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells, on both 3 and 4 April.

 

Co-produced and commissioned by Sadler’s Wells with East London Dance and Stratford Circus, Varmints is choreographed by B-boy and Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate Wilkie Branson, in collaboration with children’s theatre director Sally Cookson. The production is a rich visual piece of original hip hop dance theatre for young people and their families.

 

Varmints became popular with fans of all ages after its world premiere in 2013, and following performances in London Sadler’s Wells will tour the show to nine venues around the UK until 9 May 2015, including Newcastle, Stockton, Ipswich, Cambridge, Salford, Inverness and Glasgow.

 

Meanwhile, acclaimed Spanish company Aracaladanza presents Constelaciones in the main house on Saturday 4 April. Aracaladanza has been a favourite with audiences at Sadler’s Wells since the award-winning company’s Family Weekend debut in 2008.

 

Constelaciones is a new piece inspired by the work of Barcelona-born painter Joan Miró. A national icon in Spain and one of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists, Miró is known for his surrealist and experimental approach. Constelaciones is a cocktail of colours, shapes and games, inviting the audience to explore the colourful world Miró composed with his paintings.

 

Sadler’s Wells’ Director of Programme, Katy Arnander, said: “We’re celebrating Easter once again with the return of both the Spanish company Aracaladanza and Wilkie Branson’s Varmints, as part of our year round programme for children.

“We feel it is really important to programme high quality work for children with the same care and thought that goes into programming work for adults. If children see a show they enjoy at a young age it inspires an interest in live performance and captures their imaginations, and hopefully also makes them feel that the theatre is somewhere they want to come back to.”

 

Age Guidance: Constelaciones 4+; Varmints 7+

 

Family dance workshops at 12.30pm & 3.30pm on Saturday 4 April

 

 

 

Notes to Editors:

 

Varmints UK Tour Schedule:

 

3 & 4 April                    Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells, London

8 April                          Dance City, Newcastle

11 April                        Arc, Stockton

17 & 18 April                Dance East, Ipswich

19 April                        Junction, Cambridge

21 April                        Lowry, Salford

24 & 25 April                Stratford Circus, London

28 & 29 April                Eden Court, Inverness

2 & 3 May                    Tramway, Glasgow

8 & 9 May                    artsdepot, London