Earlier this year, children across the UK found themselves suddenly unable to go out or see their friends and family as the world went into lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Around the same time, another very surprising thing took place: some children started getting a daily email, from a rarely seen storyteller called Madame Kalamazoo. These children report that the mysterious visitor from the Blue Moon knows their names, makes them laugh, and takes them on daily imaginative adventures. But best of all, she has a special way to connect her readers with other children stuck in their houses.
Starting from today, Madame Kalamazoo’s Magical Mail will now be available to children across the whole country; delivered via email by the National Theatre.
As National Theatre at Home concludes with the final streaming day of Amadeus (Thurs until 7pm) and school summer holidays start, the National Theatre is excited to be sharing Madame Kalamazoo’s Magical Mail to children across the whole country for free from today.
The special thing about these daily, interactive stories is that they are set in children’s own homes, and feature the children themselves as the main characters. If they choose to, children can go a step further than simply reading their magical mail and can contribute artwork to help move the stories along in an act of collective storytelling with other children across the country.
Families already receiving Madame Kalamazoo’s Magical Mail love their daily stories and one parent said: “Madame Kalamazoo has been such a welcome distraction and breath of fresh air during lockdown. Every day my son wakes up asking if Madame Kalamazoo has sent a letter and he’s really thrilled when it arrives. Thank you, Madame Kalamazoo.”
Parents/ guardians can send a message to Madame Kalamazoo inviting her to write to their children at madamekalamazoo.com or can find out more by visiting nationaltheatre.org.uk. Madame Kalamazoo will start sending her Magical Mail the next day and will send 19 email stories in total. Parents can choose whether to receive stories from her daily or at weekends.
