Jack and the Beans Talk
A Garlic Theatre Production
Aimed at ages 3-8
A fresh and funny retelling of the traditional story and an ideal gentle introduction to theatre.
Was it a dream or did I hear a talking bean? Jack lives on a small farm with his mum and very little to eat. He likes to talk to the birds, his cow and anyone who will listen. Imagine his surprise when he swops his cow for some magic beans and starts to hear a whispering in the breeze and a giant rumble in the sky…
Charming and inventive with plenty of interaction, an enormous beanstalk, bags of gold and a smelly old giant Jack and the Beans Talk is a cautionary tale about what might happen if you throw things out of the window!
From Garlic Theatre who brought you the amazing Oldilocks and the Three Bears.
“‘We were treated to an amazing feast of puppets with a wonderful mix of slapstick, suspense, audience participation, and high humour“
– Walsham Le Willows Village Hall
Production Photos
Age Guidance
Jack and the Beans Talk is aimed at ages 3-8. Our shows for this age group have storylines that can be followed and enjoyed by 3-4-year olds, but may also use slightly more complex ideas, humour, dialogue or song lyrics that older children will get more out of.
There is nothing really scary in these shows but they can be a bit more dramatic than those for the youngest children, including in their use of sound and lighting, and characters may face some perils.
This show has standard theatre seating – rows of benches facing the stage. There will be up to 90 people watching the show (sometimes more if you come when there are school groups).
This isn’t an interactive show, but we always welcome vocal responses from young audiences, and there are a couple of points in the show where everyone is invited to join in with milking a cow and chopping down a beanstalk. The audience stay in their seats while watching the show, but you can leave and re-enter the auditorium at any time. After the performance there will be an opportunity for everyone to meet the puppets and talk to the performer and ask any questions.
The giant is big and there is anticipation before the giant arrives with a bit of scary music and a loud ‘Fee Fi Fo Fum’. Once the giant arrives it is clear that he is portrayed as a funny and eccentric character and the audience enjoy shouting out as the giant gets his counting wrong and interacts with the hen. The giant has a chase scene with Jack which is exciting and the audience can be quite loud shouting out to tell the giant where Jack has gone. When the audience chop down the beanstalk together it is also quite loud and exciting. The style of storytelling is very warm hearted and Iklooshar is a gentle and smiley performer.
All ages are welcome at our shows and age ranges can only be a rough guide, but please bear in mind that Jack and the Beans Talk was not specially designed for under-threes. A show aimed at two-year olds would have some differences – those shows are carefully made to hold their attention for the duration, and not to be unsettling for them.
Access the colouring sheets
About the Company
Garlic Theatre is an award winning, international visual theatre company that has toured to 21 countries outside the UK. Penny Francis OBE described Garlic Theatre as one of the main puppetry companies in the UK producing wholly original work. Garlic Theatre tours successfully to theatres, festivals, art centres, village halls and schools to average audience figures of 20,000 per year. Founded in 1997, Garlic Theatre has a fantastic reputation for unusual, funny, eccentric and highly original performances that fire the imagination of children and adults.
Credits
Direction – Steve Tiplady
Puppetry Direction – Liz Walker & Mark Pitman
Music – Iklooshar Malara
Performed by Iklooshar Malara
Multibuy Offer on Children’s Puppet Festival events:
(exclusions apply*)
Get 10% off when you book 2 events
Get 20% off when you book 3 or more events
How it works:
Step 2
If you add a second show or family workshop to your basket 10% discount applies to both events
Step 3
If you add a third show or family workshop to your basket 20% discount applies to all events
* Puppet Placations, other Family Workshops and Adult Workshops are excluded from this offer. Offer applies only to shows or family workshops (Ice Screams! and Ahoy There! Puppet Pirates) taking place between 1st August and 1st September only. Shows and family workshops need to be booked in the same order for the discount to apply, but if you have booked in separate orders and would like to claim the discount, please contact the box office. Please note that if you book more tickets for one show or family workshop than another, the discount only applies to the number of tickets booked on all events (e.g. if you book 3 tickets for two shows and 4 for a third show, 9 tickets are discounted 20% and the extra ticket on the one show is not discounted).
August – September 2024
Little Angel Theatre’s OFFIE award winning Children’s Puppet Festival
Jam-packed with shows and workshops for all the family and adults too!
We are delighted to announce the return of our Children’s Puppet Festival which will take place across both Little Angel venues this summer from 2 August – 1 September 2024. The vibrant programme will showcase a broad range of puppetry by the most exciting UK and international companies currently making theatre for young audiences.
There will also be plenty of opportunities for everyone to take part, with workshops for families, community events, fun days for children and courses for adults to try out the craft of puppetry.
If you cannot find an available event to suit you, you can join our waiting list for sold out events here.