I have to admit, the thought of dragging my lot to the theatre sometimes feels like herding cats in a thunderstorm. Yet there I was, picturing myself in the intimate glow of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, watching something that might actually stick with them longer than the latest cartoon.
A World Elsewhere opened today at Shakespeare's Globe, and it is the sort of production that makes you quietly hopeful about how we hand down stories. Directed by Lucy Cuthbertson, this new family show draws straight from Britain's Shakespearean roots without ever feeling like a dusty lesson. It runs until 30 August, neatly filling the school holiday stretch when parents everywhere are scrambling for something both fun and worthwhile.
The story follows Cass, a boy who finds real life rather tricky. He takes refuge in his imagination, surrounded by imaginary friends and adventures sparked by the Shakespeare tales his Gran reads to him. That is, until the stories stop making sense and a strange darkness creeps in, pulling him into a Shakespearean Shadow Land where he has to work out what is real. It is gentle enough for five-year-olds yet layered enough to keep adults engaged, which feels like a small miracle in itself.
I am very excited to invite audiences into our third new summer family show A World Elsewhere, in co-production again with the genius team Splendid Productions. Enter the imagine-nation of an 11-year-old boy, Cass, meet the imaginary friends he has created to make sense of life and share what happens when the outside world threatens this creativity. We are as excited by the characters as the brilliant cast who will be playing them. Inspired by Shakespeare, we aim to make the perfect, interactive, joyous introduction to theatre for younger audiences. And it is very much for adults too. It is genuinely a show for everyone.
Those are the words of Lucy Cuthbertson herself, Director of Education at Shakespeare’s Globe. You can hear the genuine enthusiasm, the sense that this is not just another children's slot but a proper bridge into the wonder of live storytelling. The cast includes Kerry Frampton as Sarah, with Zweyla Mitchell dos Santos covering, Kyle Ndukuba as Cass, Tanvi Virmani as Cobweb and Zachary Willis as Big Guy. The team behind it previously created the Olivier Award-nominated Rough Magic and Midsummer Mechanicals, so there is pedigree here.
What stays with me is how naturally it celebrates imagination, friendship and creativity while sitting firmly in that candlelit wooden playhouse that feels like stepping back into a tradition worth keeping alive. In an age when screens dominate so many young lives, there is something quietly radical about gathering families together to watch stories unfold in real time, with flashing lights and an interval to catch your breath after roughly two hours.
The production is co-produced with Splendid Productions and co-written by Kerry Frampton and Ben Hales. And yes, it carries that famous line from Shakespeare himself as its quiet heartbeat: "There is a world elsewhere."
