Playful, vibrant, and language-free children’s theatre show SPLAT! will be hitting the road on a UK tour from May to August 2025. SPLAT! is a high-energy physical comedy about art, creativity, and collaboration, heading to 25 destinations across the country.
Created for children aged 3 to 7 (and their grown-ups), this engaging production was devised in collaboration with award-winning deaf artist, filmmaker, and performer Brian Duffy, who co-created Small World, the first sitcom in British Sign Language. It is completely accessible for deaf audiences, non-English speaking audiences, and small children who are yet to get to grips with words, as no language is spoken throughout.
SPLAT! takes place inside a vibrant artist’s studio where two aspiring painters—one neat, precise, and serious, the other chaotic, messy, and full of mischief—must learn to work together. As they navigate their artistic differences, they take the audience on a journey through the history of art from ancient cave paintings to modern masterpieces.
This journey is full of clowning, movement, and slapstick comedy, creating an interactive and sensory-rich experience. The stage starts pristine and ends in a glorious explosion of colour and mess. Young audiences are invited to engage, explore, and celebrate their own creative instincts and to enquire about the vibrant, messy world created before their eyes.
SPLAT! explores themes of collaboration, play, and spontaneity, all through a wordless, visually striking performance packed with colour, music, and surprises. The show embraces the philosophy behind Picasso’s famous words: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
SPLAT!’s two characters are designed to reflect the two opposite hemispheres of the brain; one logical and ordered, the other free-spirited and unpredictable. Bringing to life the ever-changing world of art, the two heroes move between chaotic creativity and structured order, reflecting how artistic movements have evolved throughout history. From the Renaissance to Romanticism to Impressionism to Surrealism, all the way through to Pop Art and Graffiti, children can learn about the history of these movements and discover iconic images from artists such as Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, and Banksy.
SPLAT! was developed in response to global conversations about children’s education that emerged during the 2020 pandemic. This production champions the belief and research that shows alongside typical curriculum-based education, children need creative freedom, playfulness, and joyful exploration. Studies show that children are born to learn through play and that doing so improves cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development, reduces stress, and builds self-esteem and confidence. Child mental-health experts emphasised the importance of play in children’s development, urging schools to prioritise it over academic progress. At the time, Dr Jenny Gibson from the University of Cambridge said: “It’s easy to dismiss play as unimportant, but for children, playing with friends and classmates has a very significant impact on their social development.”
Ages: 3-7 (and their adults) No spoken language Run time: 55 mins
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
