The Place announces three new family shows

Making high-quality dance experiences accessible to families is at the heart of our work at The Place. Our commitment to nurturing the next generation - both as audiences and as artists - continues to guide us in producing inclusive, imaginative, and meaningful dance work for and with young people.

The programme includes:

• The World Premiere of Little M, a reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale The Little Mermaid for ages 9+ by award-winning artist Anders Duckworth
• The UK Premiere of Fevered Sleep’s Time Keeps The Drummer, where 12 children create a new durational piece live in front of the audience’s eyes over five hours, for ages 7+
• A magical new adaptation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute from Protein Dance for the 2025 festive season, for ages 5+

“We’re delighted to be co-commissioning two of the UK’s most celebrated makers of dance for young people this season: Fevered Sleep and Protein Dance. Each of them came to us with ideas that were immediately transfixing; ideas that capture the imaginative power of dance, and that we were compelled to support to reach as many young people as possible. Alongside this, we’re co-producing Anders Duckworth’s first show for children, a coming-of-age story for 9–14-year-olds, bringing the work of an inspiring choreographer to new audiences.” – Christina Elliott, Head of Programming & Producing at The Place

UK Premiere: Time Keeps The Drummer
Fevered Sleep
13 Sep 2025
Ages 7+

What would it be like to experience time through the eyes of children?

Time Keeps The Drummer is a durational show all about time, performed by twelve children aged eight to eleven. It playfully asks us to ignore the ticking of the clock and invites us to step into a space where time is fluid, joyful, chaotic, and full of wild abandon and limitless possibility. Through movement, improvisation, projection, music and lighting, the young performers offer their audiences an opportunity to witness an ever-evolving experience. Each performance is shaped in real-time, making every show different and unique. Audiences are free to come and go throughout the duration of the piece, to linger, to rest, and to reflect.

This durational performance for family audiences invites you to experience time on your own terms. Ignore the ticking of the clock and step into a space where time is fluid, joyful and chaotic – full of wild abandon and limitless possibility.

Time Keeps The Drummer is a Fevered Sleep production. Commissioned & Co-Produced by WestK. Co-commissioned and presented by The Place, ArtsDepot, FABRIC, Cambridge Junction. Thanks to: Yorkshire Dance and ArtsDepot for supporting R&D & Origination of work.

World Premiere: Little M
by Anders Duckworth
24-25 October
Ages 9-14

Have you ever wondered what’s below the surface?

Little M is a coming-of-age reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid for anyone who feels like they're swimming against the tide.

Little M and their friend Punk the Puffer Fish find a suitcase filled with mysterious treasures, leading them to wonder about the ‘world above’. With their questions met by silence under the sea, they embark on an epic adventure intro the wondrous worlds above the waves and deep down below.

Fantastical puppetry, magical transformations and spectacular dance all combine to tell this coming-of-age story. Little M is a celebration of difference for everyone aged nine and above, from the minds of Choreographer & Co-Director Anders Duckworth and Writer & Co-Director Luke Skilbeck, designs by E. M. Parry, music by NikNak and puppetry designed by Scamp.

Co-Produced and commissioned by The Place. Supported by FEAST, Yorkshire Dance and Gendered Intelligence.

The Magic Flute
by Luca Silvestrini's Protein
17 – 24 December
Ages 5+

This festive season, The Place is really excited to present a highly anticipated, brand new family show from the award-winning company Protein Dance. Following their much-loved family show The Little Prince, creator Luca Silvestrini applies his trademark playful mix of dancing, storytelling and singing to a new dance-theatre adaptation of Mozart’s popular opera, The Magic Flute.

Join the fun-loving bird-catcher Papageno and the lost Prince Tamino as they set out to rescue Princess Pamina, uncovering the truth about the mysterious Queen of the Night and the powerful leader Sarastro. With Mozart’s celebrated music re-orchestrated by composer Frank Moon, design by Dick Bird, captions by Ben Glover and lighting by Rachel Shipp, this enchanting new tale of love and friendship shining through darkness is perfect for children aged 5+ and their grown-ups.

Co-commissioned by DanceEast and The Place, The Magic Flute is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. With funding from Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a Donor Advised Fund, held at The Prism Charitable Trust; Garrick Charitable Trust, The Lucille Graham Trust, Royal Borough of Greenwich and The Golsoncott Foundation. Supported by Woolwich Works, Pavilion Dance South West and Dance City.

Alongside the stage programme, The Place remains committed to offer every child and every family the opportunity to experience dance as a part of growing up together. Approximately 7000 children and young people engage with dance through our activities each year. Whether it’s watching inspiring performances as young audience members, feeling the joy of movement in fun-filled Saturday classes for ages 3-18, developing their skills as part of the pre-vocational Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) programme, expressing themselves through choreography in one of our Youth Dance Companies or taking part in our Partner Schools Programme, an initiative working with 21 local primary schools in Camden, The Place is a space where young people can grow through movement.