Name: Grandad Anansi
Start: 2025-10-30T14:00:00+00:00
Location: 21 South Street, RG1 4QU Reading, United Kingdom

presented by Half Moon & Z-arts
Abi and her Grandad tell each other Anansi folktales. They play games as they work together in the garden among the beautiful flowers and tasty vegetables. As they plant memories, they share secrets and develop a bond that nothing can break.
Grandad is as smart and mischievous as the wily Anansi legend, a part human, part spider and the subject of many West African and Caribbean folk stories. Can he find a way to tell his granddaughter about his plans to return to Jamaica, his beloved homeland?
Join our intrepid characters as they step into the unexpected in this humorous and heartfelt inter-generational adventure. With captivating songs and joyous dancing, Grandad Anansi is an uplifting tale of love, courage and letting go that celebrates storytelling and shines a light on Jamaican culture and the Windrush generation.
Written by award-winning children’s author Elayne Ogbeta, Grandad Anansi is a Half Moon and Z-arts co-production: an exciting collaboration by the UK’s leading small-scale young people’s venue and touring company and Manchester’s unique venue for children and families.
Grandad Anansi won Best Performance at the Manchester Culture Awards 2023. It was developed in partnership with the African Caribbean Care Group and schools in Hulme, Manchester.
Please note this performance will be British Sign Language interpreted.
Tickets £12, £11 Members
Age guidance: 4-9 years & their grown ups (all children must be accompanied by an adult)
Running time: 50 mins (no interval)
'Elayne Ogbeta’s warm, pleasing and thoughtful show...manages to pack in more layers than a good strudel…. Storytelling, and its extraordinary power, is at the centre of the piece.'
★★★★ Sardines Magazine
'A colourful, amazing production'
The Guardian
'We laughed, we danced, we even shed a tear! Thank you for retelling such a wonderful story with such talent.'
Audience member