Virtual Picks for the week ahead 25th June – 1st July 2020
It’s hard to keep up with everything that’s become available online. Fear not, we’ve done the hard work for you.
From the Glasto at Home, and Global Pride to learning about volcanoes with the Natural History Museum, from free online tutorials with the House of Illustration- to interactive Magic shows, there’s lots to do, watch and enjoy this week.
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OUR TOP PICKS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
V&A, Celebrates Glastonbury (22nd -28th June)
The V&A is hosting a seven-day online celebration of all things Glastonbury this week (22nd – 28th June). Coinciding with the weekend when the world-famous festival was due to celebrate its 50th year, the V&A has delved into its collections and asked for contributions from its curators to help fill your festival void.
Home to the nation’s Glastonbury Archive, the museum will be launching a new collections page on its website as it develops an online resource for the public to learn about and navigate this amazing collection of posters, programmes, designs, interviews, film, photographs, backstage passes and other memorabilia.
Check out more here and find out how you can add your memories to the Glastonbury archive here.
National Theatre at Home: Midsummer’s Nights Dream (7pm Thurs 25 June, until 7pm Thurs 2 July)
Watch the Bridge Theatre’s magical and immersive production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Gwendoline Christie, Oliver Chris, David Moorst and Hammed Animashaun lead the cast as Titania, Oberon, Puck and Bottom, in Shakespeare’s most famous romantic comedy.
A feuding fairy King and Queen cross paths with four runaway lovers and a troupe of actors trying to rehearse a play. As their dispute grows, the magical royal couple meddle with mortal lives in the forest, to hilarious, but dark, consequences.
Running time is 2 hours 40 minutes with a very short interval.
The BBFC rating is 12A with infrequent strong language.
Watch it here.
Also check out their quizzes and join hosts Imelda Staunton, Jim Carter, Lucian Msamati, Meera Syal, Simon Callow, Tamsin Greig and Jessie Buckley for questions on topics including Maths, Science and Nature, Literature and Theatre.
You can play along on Facebook or Youtube
National School Sport Week (ends 26th June)
Want some inspiration to get the kids active. Check out our blog for more details.
To celebrate the importance of Physical Education and school sport in enhancing young people’s wellbeing, the annual National School Sport Week campaign have teamed up with Sky Sports to run a national campaign which will aim to unite the country – families, schools, sport and businesses – in a celebration of the power of sport to bring people together, even during isolation!
Read it here
The Show Must Go On: The Sound of Music (7pm BST, Friday 26th June)
A few of our favourite things. If you missed this free stream back in May, here it is again, ‘The Sound of Music’ on YouTube this Friday for 48 hours, starring Carrie Underwood as Maria…The livestream for The Sound of Music Live! will be available on Friday 26th June from 7pm BST.
Watch it here
Unicorn Dance Party from the National Theatre of Scotland, (26th June, 2pm)
An inclusive new video series from Sarah Rose Graber and Ruxy Cantir about finding the joy within us. Everyone has an inner unicorn, but sometimes it takes a bit of dancing to bring it out! Join Melody and Luna as they celebrate what makes us unique by groovin’ around our homes.
Each episode highlights different, fun ways to move our bodies and uncover inspiration from the spaces and materials around us. Tune in here
A Kind of Magic Online Show (Fri 26th and Sat 27th)
This live and fully interactive magic experience takes place via Zoom. Hosted by Magical Bones, fresh from his hugely successful appearance on Britain’s Got Talent, the show invites the audience as a whole to take part in certain items, whilst selecting individual volunteers for others. Plus there are special guest appearances from some of the best magic and contemporary circus acts in the UK today.
Tickets are priced per family/screen.
Suitable for 8+.
The Grinning Man at Bristol Old Vic (streamed 26th June, 7pm)
Based on The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo and brought to life by director Tom Morris (Touching the Void) and writer Carl Grose (Dead Dog in a Suitcase). Don’t miss this digital revival, featuring a sensational original score by Tim Phillips and Marc Teitler and puppetry from Gyre & Gimble – the original puppeteers of War Horse!
Age: 12+
Plus, check out their Family Arts Hub – with lots of free activities and ideas including Unleash your inner Costume Designer, How to paint a scenic backdrop and more.
Glasto at Home Experience
The BBC is making a host of classic Glastonbury sets available across TV, Radio and online. Check it out here.
The main stages playlists have been put together on Spotify and Apple Music with the acts who would’ve been gracing those stages at Glastonbury 2020.
Watch the John Peel stage Documentary here.
Recharge your activism with two Left Field debates making the case for radical response during this challenging time. Find out more here.
And so much more… check out the line up here
Global Pride (Saturday 27th June)
This coming Saturday, Pride organisations from across the world will celebrate Global Pride 2020. With musical and artistic performances, speeches from activists and campaigners, and addresses by public figures, 24 hours of content will be streamed that reflects and celebrates the beautiful diversity of LGBTI+ people everywhere.
Global Pride will be live-streamed and you can watch anywhere with a computer or mobile device and an internet connection. How to watch Global Pride, how to sign up to the event on facebook.
Rhyme Time (Daily 11am, except Sunday)
Join Joel, from the Barbican Children’s Library, every day from Monday to Saturday. Listen to him singing songs, many are his own compositions, and marvel at the stories he will read to you! Most of his rhyme time sessions stay on his channel for you to view at any time.
Tune in here
Soundabout Live! – (every Tue and Sat, 2pm)
Free online music-making sessions for children with profound and multiple disabilities
Join live on Facebook every Tues and Sat at 2pm for FREE interactive music-making sessions. These fun sessions are aimed at children with profound and multiple disabilities. Every week there is a new fun theme. Come and make music with us!
Soundabout is a national music charity that has pioneered the use of music, rhythm and sound to give disabled children a voice and a way to express themselves.
Watch here.
Nature Live Online: Restless Giants (12 – 12.45pm, Tuesday 30th June)
From violent eruptions to breathtaking lava flows, volcanoes are found across the globe and come in many different varieties.
But what causes one volcano to explode and another to erupt more gently? How do they form and why are they found in certain places?
Join Museum researcher Chiara Maria Petrone to find out more about volcanoes and the challenges of exploring them in the field.
Watch it here
Once aired, you can rewatch this talk and any others on the Nature Live playlist on YouTube. You can also rewatch previously aired talks and for the dinosaur lovers among you, tune in here
Birdsong – New online production of Birdsong to be streamed (1st – 4th July),
Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong will be released online in a brand new virtual production, specially made on 1st July 2020 for 72 hrs only.
Adapted from Sebastian Faulks’ award-winning novel by Rachel Wagstaff, the piece will be filmed by cast members in isolation in costume, with virtual sets, sound design and lighting.
The show itself, which follows a series of individuals both at home and on the Western Front during the First World War, will feature narration and an introduction by Faulks, with the full show lasting around two hours. It will be created in association with the British Legion.
It will be available from Wednesday 1st July 7.00pm BST to Saturday 4th July
£12.50 per ticket. Buy tickets here
ANYTIME
House of Illustration: Free family learning resources: illustrating the curriculum
KS2 cross-curricular resources adapted for at-home use. Here you’ll find six accessible, hands-on activities with step-by-step instructions and examples. These tried-and-tested resources provide simple but effective ways to use illustration to teach curriculum subjects but can also be used as fun activities for those of all ages.
From Botanical Illustrations, Pencil skills, Expressing Emotion in Pictures and Atmospheric Buildings.
Discover more here
Tate Kids – Go on a Colour Walk
Look for things in every colour of the rainbow, one by one. Take a colourful treasure hunt walk through your neighborhood or around your house.
Follow the guide to get your creative juices flowing. Whether the kids want to photograph or draw, write them down, or just look – outside or at home.
Turn your afternoon stroll into a colourful treasure hunt with the family!
Explore more here
What was Life Like – English Heritage
Join young English Heritage Members as they meet characters from the past to discover what life was like through the ages. Could you have lived as a medieval monk, a Roman legionary or a prehistoric flint miner?
Find out here
Production of Cats in Quarantine
Fun Video with music and dance those from the original broadway show and dancers from around the world. https://youtu.be/-Cxwl84Ep5c
Music at Home from Wigmore Halls
Free live streamed concerts, resources and activities for families, teachers and learners at home. With video streams of Composing with 7 – 11 year-olds Music making activities for 7 – 11 year-olds and more.
Tune in here
Chichester Festival Theatre Free Online Tutorials
Chichester Festival Theatre have created a series of free online tutorials in activities from puppet and bug hotel making to dance routines and poetry on their YouTube Channel.
From dance to puppetry, BSL to writing, the online tutorials will give you a chance to try something new and flex your creative muscles.
Watch it here
Big Dreams on Screen Competition: Celebrating 80 Years of Puffin Books (closes 2nd August)
This creative competition is to mark Puffin’s 80th birthday and inspire the next generation of storytellers and dreamers.
Encourage your learners to use their imagination to create a storyboard of their big dream. One winner will see their storyboard turned into a short film, which will be premiered at their local cinema during the Into Film Festival in November 2020 (see Terms and Conditions). The winner will also get 80 Puffin books for their school and 10 runners-up will get a lucky Puffin goody-bag filled with books.
See the competition entry form here.
Home Delivery by Roustabout Theatre – (For 7 – 16 year olds)
Home Delivery is a series of short, accessible play scripts that you can download, rehearse and perform in your homes! The scripts are designed to be child (and grown-up!) friendly, with clear stage directions to make the rehearsal process as enjoyable as possible. Whether you see yourself as a budding performer or a brooding director, Home Delivery gives you the opportunity to play as a family!
Check it here