Kinder Theatre & Performing Arts

This multi-award-winning new play tells the story of Czech Kindertransport through gorgeous and haunting puppetry for teen audiences.

Young heroine Babi crosses Europe on this epic journey; from bon bons in Germany to the sea in Margate, Babi discovers how even tiny acts of kindness can change the course of a person’s life. Babi tries to assemble the parts of her broken identity and find peace in her future, having escaped persecution just before the start of World War II, and been sent far from home. Kinder is inspired by the real events of the Czech Kindertransport, which saw young children evacuated to seaside towns across the UK, a remarkable evacuation effort pioneered by Brit Nicholas Winton, which saved 669 children.

Kinder, made in collaboration with Little Angel Theatre, aims to provide high-quality and inspiring theatre for teenagers, bringing them incredible real-life stories through a dynamic and immersive setting. From puppetry and visual theatre company Smoking Apples, the production invites the audience into an immersive set, allowing them to go on this incredible journey with Babi. Kinder features table-top puppetry and cinematic shadow play to tell Babi’s story. Smoking Apples has created a self-sufficient, self-contained set that can go into all settings, including non-theatre venues such as schools, to bring this tale to life on the road.

At a time when the world’s refugee crises, from Syria to Ukraine, are at the forefront of our minds and the news, Kinder highlights the stories of real people from the past: those who have to flee persecution and their homes, and the kindness of those who help them.

Co-Artistic Director of Smoking Apples, and director of Kinder Molly Freeman says, We’re absolutely delighted to be touring Kinder this autumn and that more people up and down the UK will get to see this really special show. At its heart, Kinder is a show about the universal theme of kindness. We made the show by, with and for young people, it is brimming with life and excitement, it is unusual and unexpected in all kinds of joyful ways. Kinder is not a show to sit down and be quiet in because the ideas it explores are not things to sit down and be quiet about.

Kinder is set to tour following recent awards success, as the 2023 Winner of the OFFIE Award for Theatre for Young Audiences in two categories: Original Music/Sound, and Production. Kinder was also a Finalist in the OFFIE Award for Young Audiences Writing category and won the 2023 Ettie Award for Best Theatre for Young Audiences for its Production.

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