Name: The Gruffalo’s Child: Sensory-Inclusive Performance
Start: 2025-04-12T13:00:00-07:00
Location: Troesh Studio Theater

$The Gruffalo\u2019s Child: Sensory-Inclusive Performance$

The Smith Center is thrilled to present a sensory inclusive performance of "The Gruffalo’s Child." Sensory inclusive performances are designed to serve any person with a physical, emotional, intellectual, or developmental disability as well as those without disabilities. This performance will be modified to address the sensory sensitivities that are often found in children, adolescents, and adults who have a variety of diagnoses including but not limited to: Autism spectrum disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, ADD/ADHD, intellectual and developmental disabilities, post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. Families are encouraged to attend together for an enjoyable visit to the theater.
One wild and windy night the Gruffalo’s child ignores her father’s warnings about the Big Bad Mouse and tiptoes out into the snow. En route she meets the same fox, owl and snake that her father met some years before. Each points her in a different direction, so by the time the little Gruffalo gets to the heart of the wood, she is beginning to have serious doubts about the scary mouse that her dad has told her about. Just about to give up and go home, she sees a little mouse and decides to stop for a mousey snack. But Mouse is not in the mood to be eaten and comes up with an ingenious plan to scare the little Gruffalo away. Standing on a twig as the moon shines, Mouse casts a big bad mousey shadow on the ground – and this is enough to send the Gruffalo’s Child running home...
The production combines Tall Stories’ unique physical storytelling style with new songs, humor and a touch of magic. In addition, puppetry is used to help create the sense of the size of the Gruffalo next to his child as well as to illustrate the scary mouse that the Gruffalo’s child thinks she has seen... For the majority of the show, a narrator (who later becomes Mouse) leads us through the tale.
"The Gruffalo’s Child" is an adaptation of the picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. It is the sequel to "The Gruffalo" ("a modern classic" - The Observer), the picture book which won the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award and the Blue Peter Award for Best Book to Read Aloud. "The Gruffalo" has been the best-selling children’s book in the UK for five years running.
Attendees Under 18: Children aged 5 and up with a ticket can attend performances at The Smith Center. Based on content, children ages 3+ are allowed for this performance only. All patrons must have their own ticket, regardless of age (no babies held in arms or children sitting on laps).