Watermans Hosting Free Online Family Show

---

Live theatre meets animation in work based on best-selling book by Michael Forman

Illustration from Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish

Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish, Michael Foreman’s classic picture book about space travel, dinosaurs, and ecological balance gets a new lease of life in this free online theatre production for young children and their families.

Commissioned by Watermans, adapted by Roustabout and performed by Robin Hemmings and Shaelee Rooke, this three part series is a mix of theatre and animation with song, puppetry, and digital wizardry, set amongst the book’s original illustrations.

Featuring an environmental message, Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish is an online treat for all ages.

Roustabout has had a lot of practise creating ways for audiences to connect with theatre over the last year. Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish is a cross media mash up which aims to reflects the way young children tell their own stories today. With the use of puppetry, music, narration, dance and live action the book is brought as close to real pandemic life as possible and is accessible for all.

The show’s director, Toby Hulse, says “Since the first lockdown, Roustabout has been pioneering new ways to tell stories online, that are every bit as theatrical as a traditional production. I have loved this book since I was young, read it to my own children, and shared it with many pupils in schools. I am thrilled that, with the support of Watermans, we are able to share this wonderful tale in a whole new way with families across the world.”

This is the third of Michael Foreman’s books that Roustabout has adapted (previously The Amazing Tale of Ali Pasha for The Story Museum, Oxford and War Game for Bristol Old Vic) and they are thrilled that he gives them full trust and support in bringing his stories to life.

Michael Foreman adds, “When I wrote, and illustrated, Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish in 1972, it was because of the growing threat to the environment. I never imagined the book would be even more relevant fifty years later, and I am delighted that Toby Hulse and Roustabout are bringing it to a wider audience.”

On the cusp of the book’s 50th anniversary, there will be a lot of parents and grandparents out there who have been enjoying this story for years. Both Roustabout and Watermans hope that the show will spark intergenerational conversations about how we can protect the planet.

From Shaelee Rooke, one of the performers, “There is no greater shared experience than life on planet Earth. By engaging a multi-generational audience in a shared online theatre experience, we hope this production will inspire people to work together, within Earth’s ecological systems, to protect our fragile home.”

Jan Lennox, Watermans’ Director says, “We’re delighted to have commissioned this show with a story that is more relevant now than ever. We’re releasing it for free so that the broadest range of children possible can discover it and, in the process, perhaps discover a love of theatre too.”

Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish will premiere on YouTube on Wednesday 7 April and will be available to watch for at www.watermans.org.uk free for 6 months.

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

 

April 2, 2021