Today I’m sharing a post by Zoe over at Playing By The Book, filling us in on a fantastic day out coming up in the Midlands…
On Saturday November 9, in the heart of Birmingham you can meet Pinocchio, a mysterious angel, the boy destined to be King Arthur… and an elephant with amazing balancing skills! And although your body will be in Brum, your mind will be invited to explore the streets of Naples, imagine what it is like to be a bird of prey, experience the thrills of the circus, or simply discover beauty in a back garden.
How’s this possible?, you may ask.
The recipe for such a day of excitement and intrigue is to:-
Take two award winning authors, David Almond and Michael Morpurgo
Mix in two sumptuously talented authors, Clara Vulliamy and Emma Chichester Clark
Sprinkle liberally with live illustration by James Mayhew
And stir all together with musicians from the Birmingham Conservatoire.
Yes, indeed, this is the perfect recipe for a Festival of Children’s Literature! It’s almost finished baking and is ready for you to feast upon.
The Festival of Children’s Literature, taking place on November 9th in at the Birmingham Conservatoire is a special party celebrating the 45th birthday of The Federation of Children’s Book Groups (http://www.fcbg.org.uk/), a UK-wide kids’ reading-for-pleasure charity. The day is very much for children and their families, with an opportunity for all to hear the authors talk about their work, to meet them and to take part in workshops. In short, it’s a day about celebrating books and the joy of reading!
Taking its lead from the venue, the Birmingham Conservatoire the theme of the day is stories across the arts, exploring how children’s literature has fed into and off music, theatre, film and even puppetry!
James Mayhew will be running a fascinating workshop aimed at children 10-14 years old, all about illustrating to live music (performed by musicians from the Birmingham Conservatoire), using Benjamin Britten’s music for T. H. White’s King Arthur book, The Sword in the Stone.
Later in the day there will be a unique and magical concert celebrating Benjamin Britten’s centenary with a performance of his The Sword in the Stone, featuring live illustration and readings by James, musicians from the Conservatoire and workshop participants.
David Almond will be celebrating 15 years of Skellig, including exploring its adaptation for opera, theatre and film.
Clara Vulliamy will be hosting an exciting mini puppet toy theatre workshop based on Bubble and Squeak, a book specially written for her to illustrate, by James Mayhew.
Michael Morpurgo and Emma Chichester Clark will ensure the day ends on a high note, with an engaging insight into their new collaboration, a retelling of Pinocchio.
Full details of the Festival can be found here: http://www.fcbg.org.uk/
You can purchase tickets online here http://www.birmingham-box.co.
The BOX
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Centenary Square, Broad Street
Birmingham
B1 2EP
If you prefer to book tickets over the phone the box office number is 0121 245 4455.
Thanks, Zoe! Looks like a great day out, so for those of you that are local to Birmingham, there’s that day planned!
Thank you so much for helping to spread the word about the Festival!
You’re very welcome. Happy to help!