Tiny Tidings: The Story Museum’s Mini Christmas Adventures
It’s a season of tiny Christmas tidings at The Story Museum with the launch of 'Mouse Tale': the newest trail made by young visionaries aged 12-16; meanwhile join Tom Thumb’s mini adventures in the Woodshed Theatre!
In collaboration with The Story Museum's production team, a group of 12 to 16-year-olds have drawn inspiration from the enchanting 'Mouseum,' a permanent mini-museum housed in a telephone box outside the museum's entrance on Pembroke Street in Oxford. A local cultural landmark, the Mouseum features families of toy mice engaged in various activities, skillfully brought to life by the museum's creative team.
The concept of the ‘Mouse Tale’ imagines the Mouseum Mice have escaped, in search of fresh Story inspiration for a new whisker-twitching tale. They are catapulted on a Story adventure, blasting off in a tiny time machine. Museum visitors will discover them in a sequence of 'moments' across various timelines, from 19th Century theatre to the nostalgic realms of 1980s Christmas annuals. Each ‘moment’ has been placed at a lower level, so that even the Museum’s smallest visitors can discover them.
The young designers Martha Leverett-Morris, aged 12, Frances Rollerson, 13 and Zoe Whitla, 14, are all participants in The Story Museum’s ‘Story Curators’, a weekly after-school session run by The Story Museum’s learning and production teams. During this term, the youngsters have been learning how to create tiny worlds using newly acquired set-design skills. Each element has been made by hand by the students and the creative team, who have carefully sourced authentic details such as 1920s Radio Times imagery.
‘Our young Story Curators have mastered the art of crafting enchanting tiny worlds,’ says Nomi Everall, The Story Museum’s production manager. ‘The concept of the Mouse Tale has been entirely the Story Curators’ idea. We’ve been blown away by their creativity and attention to detail.’
Meanwhile in the Woodshed Theatre this Christmas, The Story Museum has another pint-sized offering: Tom Thumb from Lyngo Theatre is performed entirely under and on top of a kitchen table. Audiences can expect a unique blend of storytelling and theatrical magic, with feathery spinning birds, a flying house, and a portable forest.
"We are thrilled to present 'Tom Thumb' at the Woodshed Theatre this Christmas. Lyngo Theatre has crafted a magical and imaginative performance that brings a classic tale to life’ says Ameneh Enayat, senior producer at The Story Museum. "Families can expect an engaging and enchanting experience that will captivate both the young and the young at heart."
Mouse Tale makes its debut on 13th December, and will be included in The Story Museum’s Galleries tickets. Tom Thumb performances are from Thursday 21st December – Friday 29th December.
Book tickets via The Story Museum’s website: www.storymuseum.org.uk
Or telephone: 01865 790050
