Imagine Festival 2025 Returns to Southbank Centre

From 18-23 February 2025, the Southbank Centre will host the annual Imagine Children's Festival - London's leading arts festival for families. 

Returning for its 23rd year, Imagine Festival will transform the Southbank Centre into a vibrant cultural playground for the February half term with a range of events for children for ages 0-11 years and their grown-ups to enjoy.

Highlights of this year's programme includes: 

• REPLAY: A Limitless Recycled Playground (Tues 21 Jan-Sun 1 June, Royal Festival Hall) Part installation, part adventure playground, REPLAY is a space built entirely out of waste materials repurposed for fun by The Herd Theatre. Visitors are invited to play side by side in this space full of things you can move, change, combine, wear and reimagine.

• There's a Bear on My Chair (Tues 18-Sun 23 Feb, Queen Elizabeth Hall) In this first ever stage adaptation of Ross Collins' much-loved books, Toby Olié (Spirited Away, Animal Farm, War Horse) brings Bear and Mouse to life through loveable, life-sized puppets. Enter the mischievous world of Bear and Mouse for a show packed with laughs and surprises.

• Poetry Adventures with Kate Wakeling (Tues 18 Feb, National Poetry Library) This event features lively poetry performances from poet Kate Wakeling with relaxed and unusual opportunities for children to get involved and write their own poems. Wakeling is a poet and musicologist who writes for both children and adults. 

• Rollercoaster (Fri 21 & Sat 22 Feb, Purcell Room at the Queen Elizabeth Hall) The show features a four-metre transparent tube making balls spiral around Peden's body, spinning plate rituals, epic disco juggling and some of the most difficult juggling ever done on stage, accompanied by electro beats composed of distorted rollercoaster sounds. 

• Dav Pilkey (Sat 22 Feb, Royal Festival Hall) Half dog, half man and all hero, DOG MAN is a global phenomenon. With Pilkey's trademark humour and heart, the series brings kids and families everywhere stories about friendship, love, bravery, empathy and epic adventures.

• CBeebies Wildlife Jamboree (Sun 23 Feb, Royal Festival Hall) Come along with Duggee, the Squirrels and lots more CBeebies friends to celebrate the natural world, and look forward to songs, music, lots of fun and opportunities to join in and meet new wildlife friends!

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