Exclusive:Children's festival programme in 'challenge' to target teen audience

Adjjima Na Patalung, who took over as festival director last year, replacing Noel Jordan, said programming aimed at older children and teenagers was new for the festival, adding that a review of whether it has been successful would be carried out after this year’s festival.

Three of the 15 works set to be shown as part of the festival are aimed at older children and teens, in a departure from the usual programming for primary school aged pupils and younger.

The full line-up for EICF - previously known as Imaginate - will this year include a dance performance which will see audience members lying on the stage and another which plays "3D binaural sounds" through headphones.

This year’s programme was scheduled by Mr Jordan before his departure, with Ms Na Patalung due to put her own stamp on the event in 2027.

Programming for teenagers includes Toto Kerblammo - a story about a girl who is forced to move house after her mother is taken into a psychiatric hospital and struggles to find a home for her dog - aimed at 10 to 13 year olds.

Meanwhile, Cringe, for 10 to 15 year olds, based on writer Ross McKay’s own life, tackles the issue of bullying, while It Would Be Such a Shame If You Missed Out, for 10 to 16 year olds, is billed as an absurdist play about teenage anxiety over missing out.

Ms Na Patalung, who is originally from Thailand and founded the Bangkok International Children's Theatre Festival, said: “I think it [programming for teenagers] is something that we will have to look at, we will have to see what happens this year.

“It Would Be Such a Shame If You Missed Out is a big show to fill, it is in Traverse 1. It will be very appealing for older children, but [former director] Noah also believed it could work for children who are ten-plus because children now are interested in these things at that age. We can explore this and see how we do this year before I decide if it’s something we would like to venture on in the future.”

She added: “This group of young people are very interesting, because they are the age group who in a few years time can vote and can make a lot of decisions in society. They have other interests, they spend a lot of time online and that’s why we need to bring them back to the theatre, but it’s a challenge.

“I’ve seen a few festivals across the world, where they have scheduled programming for teenagers and they really have to make an effort [to sell tickets]. They have to work hard to bring them in. But if it can work for one child and be something that could have a huge impact on the rest of their life, then it is positive.”

This year’s festival brings together 15 productions from nine countries, with five productions from Scotland.

Circus features strongly in this year’s programme, as well as puppetry and works led by disabled artists.

The line-up will also include aerial show The Unlikely Friendship of Tentacle Girl and Feather Boy, which had to be pulled from last year’s programme after one of the performers was injured during a show in Johnstone the week before the festival. It was later performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of the Scottish Government funded Made in Scotland programme.

The programme also features a focus on Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium, while performances for babies are catered for in Island, for 0-12 month olds.

Ms Na Patalung said the festival is increasingly working in partnership with other events to share costs - and environmental impact - of touring shows.

She said: “It is something we have started to do and going forward, it is something we will be doing more of, especially if you want to bring work from far away, such as South East Asia. Festivals have to be more collaborative.”

She said funding for arts festivals across the world was becoming increasingly difficult.

She said: “Even in placeswhere we would usually see a lot of support, in the Nordic countries, we are seeing a reduction in funding. It does worry me.”

With an MFA in Theatre Directing from Middlesex University, Ms Na Patalung, who had visited EICF as a delegate five times before her appointment, was later awarded a bursary from Theatre Rites in London, where she became interested in children’s theatre.

“That’s the first time I really shifted my perspective abut children’s theatre,” she said. “I realised it was so professional and ambitious and not taking children for granted but respecting their intelligence and also their imagination. That was a pivotal moment in my career.”

She says she wants to increasingly bring children’s voices into the programming of EICF. Youngsters from Forthview Primary School in Edinburgh have previously been involved with the festival.

“I’m interested in bringing works that see artists and children work together,” she said. “It would be nice to meet with children every month or so and talk to them about what matters.”

Ben Torrie, head of theatre at Creative Scotland, said: “The quality and diversity of the programme for the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival offers children and young people a range of inspiring and enriching artistic experiences at an early age, a crucial time for sustaining engagement in culture and creativity throughout their lives.

“The Festival provides a fantastic platform for Scotland’s world-class theatre-makers to showcase alongside top-quality productions from around the world, involving children and young people in exploring important global themes.”

The festival runs from 30 May to 7 June.