Theatre Shows
Lyra's professional theatre in the heart of Craigmillar is your local venue to come and see brilliant shows for children, teenagers and families. Lyra's Young Curators choose the shows and host brilliant visiting companies. Each year, the theatre welcomes shows as part of Imaginate, the Edinburgh International Children's Festival. And, of course, the theatre showcases the work of Lyra's Young Artists at each year's Bright & Wild Festival and shows by Lyra's Young Company.
Tickets to all of Lyra's Theatre Shows are free and are supported by Scops Arts Trust and National Lottery Community Fund: Young Start
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Image by Ben Winger
Float (preview)
A Starcatchers production by Kerry Cleland and company
Thursday 20 March 10am-1pm
Friday 21 March 10am-1pm
Float is a beautiful and immersive world for babies from birth to 12 months old and their grown-ups, with a performance that will ebb and flow through the space during the 3-hour experience.
  
Designed especially for babies up to 12 months old, Float invites you to relax with your baby and enjoy a gently interactive performance, with music, dance, visual projections and sensory objects, in a beautiful, calm space inspired by the healing properties of water. You and your baby are free to explore this safe tactile world and engage with the performers or unwind and de-stress in Float's tranquil space.
 
Float is a three-hour experience. Your ticket with allow you to come and go as you as want during this time, so you don’t have to worry about arriving later, leaving earlier, or taking a wee break in between.  
Tickets:
Float is a recurring, non-verbal performance. The performance is intended for and meets the attention needs of babies aged 0 to 12 months and is not suitable for children older than 12 months old. Please be aware before booking your ticket that your baby must be no older than 12 months old at the time of performance.
One ticket admits one adult + baby. Please contact us if you have twins, triplets or other multiples. There are 15 additional adult tickets available but they must be purchased with an adult and baby ticket.
Past Shows
5 Feb: Cloud Man by Constellation Points
1 Mar: Little Top by Starcatchers and Superfan
11 - 12 Mar: Going for Gold: Me & Linford Christie by Vicky Beesley & Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
19 Mar: And the Birds Did Sing by Curious Seed
19 Apr: In Praise of Shadows by Julia Darrouy
22 Apr: A Home for Hamish by Clare and Lesley
17 - 18 May: How to Find a Dragon by Geraldine Heaney, Kerry Cleland and Katy Wilson in association with Sprog Rock and Wednesday Performing Arts and AI + U by Adam Rosa and Thursday Performing Arts
24 - 25 May: Learning to Dance in the Rain by Niamh O'Loughlin and Youth Dance and Warm, Cold & In-between by Tenzin Stephen with Youth Music
28 - 31 May: The Unexpected Gift by Barrowland Ballet (Imaginate)
29 Jun: Pekku by Andy Manley
18 - 19 Oct: That Feeling When A Lyra Young Company Production by Natalia Barua with Caitlin Mulgrew and Jo Timmins
3 - 7 Dec: Una Imagines by Tortoise in a Nutshell
Programming
Lyra’s theatre is programmed by our teenage Young Curators – they make the choices and control the programming budget for Artspace. They programme professional shows for young audiences and their families living in the Greater Craigmillar community. They want the shows they programme to be “MOVING, EXCITING, FUNNY, INCLUSIVE, INTERACTIVE and REFLECTIVE of our COMMUNITY”. Lyra’s Young Curators enjoy a variety of different genres and styles with shows for different age groups that surprise and challenge them.
The Young Curators accept pitches year-round. In the first instance, pitches will be discussed for practicality with Lyra’s Executive Producer before being passed on to Lyra’s Artistic Director for shortlisting. Shortlisted pitches will be considered by the Young Curators at their next available meeting. Please contact Executive Producer James Preston (james@lyra.co.uk) with as much information as possible including a video link, technical specification, target age range and indication of costs.
Lyra makes and tours our own work by professional grown-ups for young audiences in communities of significant multiple deprivation. We also support Scottish artists and companies to produce, test and present work for young audiences at Artspace. Whilst we don’t directly commission work, we may be able to offer a combination of studio and/or theatre space, artistic, dramaturgical and producer advice. We aim to share our available resources and expertise for the benefit of our community and the wider children and young people’s arts sector. In return for Lyra’s support, we ask companies to connect with our audiences, previewing and/or premiering their work with our Young Artists and local community. Where Lyra’s Young Artists have been contributed to the development of a new work, we ask that they are appropriately credited – and, of course, they love being invited to a premiere!
Please be aware that Lyra runs its own busy engagement programme and the Young Artists already have a packed schedule. Artists and companies who would like to test ideas and/or run extra workshops with our participants will need to budget for additional staffing to recruit and organise new workshops and 'test/focus' groups. Lyra is always available to support this process and give guidance and advice. If you’d like to discuss a potential partnership, please contact Executive Producer James Preston (james@lyra.co.uk) in the first instance.