The Garbage King

When Mamo meets Dani in a graveyard in Addis Ababa, he sees a spoiled little rich boy. To someone who’s been abandoned on the city streets and forced to flee child-traffickers, it seems that only a fool would run away from such a privileged life.

But the two runaways turn out to have more in common than they first imagine, and soon strike up an unlikely friendship. And when the struggle for survival draws them into a street gang, they rapidly find themselves entirely dependent on their ties to their gang-mates, and one another.

Inspired by the true stories of courageous African children growing up on the edge of destitution, the Unicorn follows its acclaimed adaptation of Siobhan Dowd’s The London Eye Mystery with the world stage première of Elizabeth Laird’s hit novel. Live music and Jean Chan’s Linbury-Prize winning set made from recycled and found objects combine in a striking production that brims with the sight and sounds of the Ethiopian capital city.

”The characters are alive and three-dimensional, and the texture of life in Ethiopia… the details of place, are conveyed in a way that makes them almost instantly recognisable, no matter how unfamiliar the reader may be with the country.” The Guardian on Elizabeth Laird’s novel The Garbage King.

FAMILY DAYS
3, 10, 17, 31 October
Enjoy the full Unicorn experience - attend a 90-minute drama and puppetry workshop, see The Garbage King and meet members of the cast.  All tickets £26 per person.

MEET THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Laird will give a post-show Q&A after the 1.30pm and 7pm shows on 7 October.

POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS
With the Cast and Director. After the 1.30pm performances on 13, 14, 20 and 21 October.

Are you a teacher interested in The Garbage King? Check out our teachers event.

To celebrate the opening of The Garbage King, the Unicorn has teamed up with Recyclewise. Find out more about  how you can help the Unicorn and the environment by recycling your old phone.

The Day The Waters Came

It’s summer 2005. Maya Marsalis takes you by the hand - sometimes the throat -and leads you through her landscape on the day Hurricane Katrina came, the levees broke, the world watched and the US Government did nothing. Go with her as she shows you how her world and that of thousands of black American citizens changed forever on the day the waters came.

Not About Heroes

by Stephen MacDonald

Set in a Scottish war hospital during WW1, this is the story of the meeting and developing friendship of the celebrated writer, Siegfried Sassoon and the then unknown Wilfred Owen, who was suffering from shell shock. It was this profoundly creative and liberating friendship that finally unlocked Owen's poetic genius to express the horror and pity of war; a war which claimed his life exactly one week before the armistice.

Defying Hitler

By Sebastian Haffner

Sebastian Haffner was born in Berlin in 1907, so he was 26 when Hitler came to power. Defying Hitler is the story of the trials and tribulations of his life, leading up to his eventual emigration to England in 1939. The rise of the Nazis is explored simultaneously through the eyes of the child who experienced it and of the 32-year-old man looking back over his early life and wrestling with the question “whatever became of the Germans?”

A brilliant, moving and terrifying evocation of the destruction of civilisation in Germany under the Nazis. Compelling theatre, immaculately performed. Sunday Telegraph

Tin Soldier

“I may be made of tin, I might have lost a limb, but I’ll never never part, with that great glow of hope within my beating heart.”

Join our brave tin traveller on an action packed journey stuffed with songs, surprises and a gallery of grotesques. Cursed by an evil goblin, chased by a monstrous rat, swallowed by an enormous fish and deserted by his comrades, our unflinching hero hurtles towards his appointment with destiny.

Following the success of Hood In The Wood (2006 & 2008) and A Tasty Tale (2008), Tangere Arts returns to the Unicorn with a rollercoaster performance for all romantics over 7 years old, featuring love, laughter and loads of live music.

“A first-rate piece of storytelling, that will make children squeal with terrified delight and parents shiver with recognition.”  The Guardian on Hood in the Wood (2008)

Running Time: 50 minutes, no interval

The world premiere of

Sunflowers and Sheds

From the creative team behind the critically acclaimed One Little Word comes a tender and heart-warming story of discovery, sure to inspire and delight audiences young and old alike.

On the allotments down by the railway, Frank’s peaceful routine is turned upside down by the arrival of lively Isabella and her chickens on the neighbouring plot. Through the changing seasons, the seeds of friendship grow side by side with the raspberries, runner beans, memories and dreams.

Underscored with original music, let the enchanting world of Sunflowers and Sheds take you on a journey that will capture your heart and imagination.

Perfect for children aged 4+

What the critics said about One Little Word

Magical - The Stage
Outstanding - Herald Scotland
 

Intermediate Storytelling Workshop

With Ben Haggarty

Ben Haggarty leads this short course aimed at those who already have some experience of telling stories in performance contexts. It will be a 2-day practical workshop looking at the shaping and construction of stories using Indo-European wonder tales (fairy tales) as a starting point. It will explore, in particular, the function of language as a practical improvisational tool for bringing rhythm and pace to lengthy narratives and introduce a key compositional tool.

Storytelling Workshop for Beginners

With Ben Haggarty

As part of The Crick Crack Club's exciting Storytelling Season at the Unicorn Theatre, highly acclaimed performer and teacher, Ben Haggarty, is offering an introductory short course in storytelling. This two-day, beginners' workshop will be practitioner-led and aimed at adults with a love of traditional narratives and an interest or experience in performance. The workshop will give an introduction to the core principles of storytelling and explore the relationship between storytelling and theatre.
 

PLEASE NOTE: We regret that we are unable to process workshop booking online. Please call our box office on 020 7645 0560 to book.

Shakespeare Schools Festival

Shakespeare Schools Festival returns to the Unicorn for its 10th Anniversary Festival. As the UK’s largest youth drama festival, SSF will also be in 80 other cities and towns giving 14,000 young people the chance to experience the genius of Shakespeare through performance.

The Shakespeare Schools Festival works in partnership with the National Theatre and the National Youth Theatre, who provide workshops to enable teachers and young people to produce accessible Shakespeare at its most innovative and entertaining. Four local schools stage four different half-hour plays each night.

PLEASE NOTE: Online booking is not available for this event. Please contact the box office on 020 7645 0560 for tickets.

Beauty and the Beast

Join the Unicorn this Christmas as a new version of Beauty and the Beast roars into life.

When Bob Brizzlewink loses his job as a merchant, the family is forced to move to the country and survive by growing vegetables. Bob’s daughter, Belle, constantly squabbles with her sister and struggles to rein in her fierce temper. In fact her only friends seem to be the runks - small rodent beasties that love to munch on the juicy cabbages.

But when Bob finds himself magically transported to a mysterious castle, and threatened by the terrifying Beast, he’s forced to trade his green-fingered daughter for his life. Will Belle’s temper get her into hot water, or will she and the savage Beast be able to tame one another?

Writer Phil Porter (including last year’s smash hit Cinderella and 2008's The Flying Machine) returns to the Unicorn with a brand new version of the classic story, containing magic, music, and moments to haunt and delight you in equal measure.
 

“An absolute, perfectly judged delight. Porter has a very sure, old-fashioned sense of how to hook in and hold children’s attention. The script oozes with silliness.” The Daily Telegraph on Cinderella (Christmas 2009).

FAMILY DAYS
5, 12, 19 Dec; 16, 23 Jan
Enjoy the full Unicorn Experience – attend an entertaining 90-minute theatre workshop, see Beauty and the Beast and meet members of the cast. Early
booking is advised as places are limited to 20 people per session.
5 Dec: £25 per person, 12, 19 Dec; 16, 23 Jan: £29 per person.

Mole in the Hole

Meet the Mole Family in their cosy, underground home, lined with straw and strewn with sweet-smelling herbs. This is a wonderland with delights underfoot, popping out from the walls and even down from the ceiling. The Musical Mole fills the cavern with sounds as we journey to meet the Silly Rabbits, the Brave Snail and encounter some problems that the Moles will need all your help to solve.

This is an adventure for all the senses to be enjoyed by all children from 3 to 6, their families and friends.  Everyone will be asked to muck in, so please don’t wear your best outfit! So that everyone will have a chance to play their part, audiences are limited to just 50 per show as the audience will be required to move around the performance space.