Polka Theatre’s Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive Helen Matravers, Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive Lynette Shanbury, and the whole team are pleased to announce further details for the return of their Early Years Theatre Festival, Big Dreams. The Festival will take place on Saturday 19 – Sunday 20 September 2026, with an exciting programme of engaging UK and international shows, interactive events and free activities for young audiences and their families.
Building on the success of previous years, Big Dreams 2026 will once again celebrate the very best in Early Years theatre and creativity. Audiences are invited to enjoy an array of imaginative and playful experiences, including a programme of performances specially created for children aged 0–8 years, alongside interactive installations and opportunities to explore and create together.
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Shows on Saturday 19 September will be: World Book Day Ambassador, best-selling author and viral social media sensation MC Grammar, bringing high-energy wordplay and music to the stage for 3–7-year-olds; The Tale of the Loneliest Whale, a magical deep-sea adventure celebrating friendship, difference and the beauty of being yourself for ages 4–8; and international work Multicolore, a visually rich and playful puppet show exploring friendship and colour for ages 18 months – 6 years. Across both days of the festival, audiences of all ages will also be able to experience Hopeful Monsters, an all-day free cinema-experience, inviting families to encounter theatre and puppetry in a different way.
Shows on Sunday 20 September will be: Family Rave, a joyful daytime dance event for children and grown-ups together for ages 0–4; Nick Sharratt’s Once Upon a Drawalong, an interactive live drawing and storytelling event from the beloved illustrator for ages 3-7; Hurly Burly’s After Party, for ages 0-2; and Dancing with Colours from Mind The Gap, for ages 18 months – 6 years. Hopeful Monsters will also continue across the day as part of the festival’s free creative activity offer.
Tickets for performances and talks are £13* each, with a multi-buy saving of up to 15% when booking 2 or more events.
On Friday 18 September, Polka will host an Industry Day in celebration of Early Years Theatre. The day will include scratch performances and presentations from participants in Polka Theatre’s Artist Development Programme – Catapult – alongside workshops, panel discussions and opportunities for networking with industry peers.
Catapult artists presenting work include Arlo Wilson, Inna Cebotari, Minhee Yeo & Kassna, Little but Fierce, Jeanzia Guan, Izzy Jiang & Yunshu Jiang, and Layla Madanat & Roann Hassani McCloskey.
A workshop led by Chloe Stephens (Page One Theatre), Reward your Inner Child, will invite participants to reconnect with play and expand their approach to creating theatre for early years audiences.
Panel discussions will include You Shouldn’t Make That for Children, exploring how artists and organisations respond to challenging themes in work for young audiences, with Kate Cross (The Egg), Adjjima Na Patalung (Imaginate Festival), Rachel Bagshaw (The Unicorn) and Helen Matravers (Polka Theatre); and How Do We Solve a Problem like Touring, examining the realities of touring for early years work, with David Gibb (Little Seeds), Turtle Key Arts and further speakers to be announced. The day will conclude with an exclusive evening performance of Multicolore from French company, Cie En Attendant La Marée, 6 – 6.30pm.
More information and ticket types available here.
Tickets are on sale now via polkatheatre.com or via 020 8543 4888*.
Helen Matravers said, “Big Dreams is a chance to celebrate all things theatre and performance for the youngest of audiences and shine a light on the creation process for artists. The whole building becomes a melting pot of ideas, debate, activity and sharing’s that inspire and empower children, families, and theatre-makers alike. We are able to introduce new ideas and stories to audiences, but also open up the floor to the young audiences sector to find out what artists need, what programmers and venues are looking for, and how we work together to build a more creatively exciting and supportive environment for the work to thrive in. Every single corner of Polka comes alive during Big Dreams weekend, and we are able to present work at such brilliantly varying scales to inspire everyone with all tastes – families can stay all day and never get bored!”
Polka Theatre is one of just a handful of dedicated children’s venues in the UK. Re-opening in 2021 after a major renovation, it continues to present a year-round programme of shows produced by Polka and from visiting companies. Polka also offers a full programme of Creative Learning activities for ages 0–12, with over 21,000 children taking part in the last year. Polka enjoys flexible rehearsal and workshop spaces along with two performance spaces: the Y C Chan Theatre has a 300-seat capacity, and the Adventure Theatre can seat up to 90 depending on the show format.
Over the past year, Polka has worked with 143 schools through Creative Learning projects and has distributed over 9,000 free tickets to schools through their Curtain Up! scheme.
Polka is a community hub and vital resource, open 6 days per week, 50 weeks per year at a challenging time to be a sustainable public venue with step-free access, free-to-access play spaces and a cosy and welcoming café and shop.