with author Gareth P Jones and illustrator Loretta Schauer
11am | Ages 3+ | 45 mins | Tickets £7
A fantastical musical journey through the hilariously re-imagined fairy tales of Gareth P Jones and Loretta Schauer, including songs from Rabunzel: The Musical – a unique performance featuring live drawing, rapping and interactive songs played on a variety of instruments. Expect Kung Fu rabbits, disco dancing gorillas and catwalk strutting cats!
Book tickets for Fairy Tales for the Fearlesswith author-illustrator Bridget Marzo
12pm | Ages 4+ | 45 mins | Tickets £7
Join award-winning author-illustrator Bridget Marzo for The Big Improvised Draw as she reads and draws live on stage some of the many human and animal characters in her books, including a sneak preview of the Stone Age family, which features in her new book, Mo’s Best Friend, to be published in 2024. This unique, interactive event culminates in an improvised draw where you, the audience, can share what you think the new characters might do. Shout out your ideas and Bridget will conjure a new picture tale of the most humongous Christmas party ever.
Book tickets for The Big Improvised Drawwith author-illustrator Nicholas Allan
1.15pm | Ages 2+ | 30 mins | Tickets £7
The best-selling picture book Father Christmas Needs a Wee is brought to life by author-illustrator Nicholas Allan as he draws and tells this famous bearded man’s story on Christmas Eve. At each different house that Father Christmas visits, he eats and drinks all the goodies left out for him. Before long he really, really, really needs a wee. Hilarious, and peppered with some real, YES REAL magic moments.
Book tickets for Father Christmas Needs a Wee2.15pm | All ages | 45 mins | FREE
Children, parents and author-illustrators come together to create a huge drawing laid out on a giant piece of paper on the theatre floor. Using the gallery exhibition Picture a Story as inspiration, this is the perfect opportunity to get creative and help create a huge communal work of art.
Tickets to this event are FREE, but please reserve your place as space is limited!
The Big Community Draw has now sold out. You can join our waiting list and we will get in touch if any tickets become available.
3.15pm | Ages 3-7 | 40 mins | Tickets £7
End the day with a relaxing big-screen cinema event in the theatre. Chill out and watch a digital performance of Half Moon’s hugely popular show Party and let the warmth of a Portuguese summer take you to a place where difference is something to celebrate.
Afonso who wants to go to his best friend’s birthday party, but where is his invitation – has it been lost in the post, or maybe he wasn’t even invited? When it finally arrives the excitement and nerves become too much to handle. What should he wear? Will they have balloons? Will anyone play with him? And what about the cake?
The show offers a poignant and popular exploration of diversity for the very young.
Party has extremely limited dialogue. This makes it accessible to a range of people, including d/Deaf, hard of hearing and non-English speakers.
Book tickets for Cinema Chill – PartyEvents in the Upper Studio
with author Alice Hemming
11.15am | Ages 6+ | 30 mins | Children £7 | Accompanying adults FREE (please reserve a ticket as space is limited)
A hands-on creative opportunity to design your own book cover and, if you like, write a story to go with it! Be inspired as you listen to bestselling author Alice Hemming read from her book The Thirteenth Vampire. Enter a world of vampires, scary creatures and creepy-crawly spiders.
Book tickets for The Thirteenth Vampirewith artist Anne-Marie Perks
12.15pm | Ages 7+ | 75 mins | Children £7 | Accompanying adults FREE (please reserve a ticket as space is limited)
Discover how to use clay to create small 3D characters with artist Anne-Marie Perks. Start to create the building blocks of your own animation in this interactive workshop where you’ll have the opportunity to sculpt your own characters using different materials. Please wear appropriate clothing for this messy experience.
Book tickets for Sculpting Storieswith author Margaret Bateson-Hill
2pm | Ages 4+ | 30 mins | Children £7 | Accompanying adults FREE (please reserve a ticket as space is limited)
A paper-craft adventure! Listen to Margaret Bateson-Hill tell the story of Lao Lao of Dragon Mountain, inspired by the Chinese art of paper cutting. Start by learning how to make a simple geometric shape and then become more adventurous with your own unique snowflake, butterfly, flower or dragon mask.
Book tickets for Lao Lao of Dragon MountainConnected Events
Picture a Story
14 September-22 December 2023
A vibrant exhibition that shines the spotlight on the creative and innovative world of children’s book illustration. Colourful, diverse, wry and amusing, Picture a Story brings together a collection of stunning and evocative work by published author-artists from a range of genres and styles for babies to older children.
Explore moreCelebrate and Investigate
7 Dec 2023 | from 6.30pm | Ages 13+
An opportunity to explore Children’s Writers and Illustrators for Stories and Literacy’s (CWISL) stunning Gallery @ Half Moon exhibition, Picture a Story, in the company of some of the UK’s much-loved and award-winning authors and illustrators, many of whose work is on display. The event includes an industry panel event which will be particularly relevant for anyone interested in breaking into the children’s book illustration market.
School Encounter Workshops
As part of the exhibition, we are offering local schools across Tower Hamlets a series of encounter workshops and online activities with authors and illustrators.
This is in addition to our usual gallery trail for children, schools and community groups to support young people in gaining Arts Award Discover and Explore.
For further information, please contact Androulla on 020 7709 8908 or androulla@halfmoon.org.uk
Explore more about the activities available