Sheffield half term: Journey through the Blanket Fort Club at immersive theatre experience for children

Children in Sheffield can enjoy a wondrous world of imagination made entirely from blankets this coming half term.

The Blanket Fort Club is a 60-minute sensory, immersive experience that will see characters guiding young audiences through tactile spaces in a living, breathing, sonic world of blankets.

It is the brainchild of Sheffield theatre maker George Stone who idea for the show during lockdown, when she spent endless days building huge blanket forts with her autistic son and his younger sister.

The show, which will be on at Burton Street Foundation, in Hillsborough, on March 30 and April 1, before touring to Meadowhall Shopping Centre soon after, has been designed to be entirely accessible for all children including those with complex needs and disabilities.

Guests will discover the Three Little Pigs in the story room, splash through the puddles in the rain corridor and construct a castle in the building room. Once they have journeyed through the blanket fort, all they will need is a sheet and their imagination to return.

Blanket Fort Club creator George Stone says: “I’ve been chucked out of theatres because my autistic son, Jake, was enjoying himself too much - or not enough - and it was too loud for them. I think there are plenty of parents who will empathise with that, and I wanted to create a space that your children can enjoy no matter what their needs are.

“The Blanket Fort Club has its own character depending on who is experiencing it. So there’s a more sensory-led experience, one that is more quest-based, there’s a story room, parachute play, dancing, and as you return through the ‘rooms’ of the Blanket Fort they reinvent themselves.

“The idea is all about transitions, about beautiful moments we share together and that they might not last forever but they’re still really special.”

The Blanket Fort Club uses ‘sensory maps’ to involve the audience in their journey, using a character guide to explore story and theme through tactile spaces. With some maps being more quest-based than others, each has been designed to engage the senses and encourage playful interaction with characters and the Blanket Fort Club’s world. 

Transitions from space to space are part of the magical experience, with the blanket fort inviting audiences through intriguing light, sound and tactile elements.

The Blanket Fort Club is for children aged 5-8 and all children who would encounter barriers to access in traditional theatre experiences, including children with complex needs and disabilities and Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD).

In Sheffield the Blanket Fort Club will be hosted by neighbourhood arts centre RivelinCo at Burton Street Foundation on March 30 and April 1. It will then tour to Enterprise Works in Meadowhall between April 3 and 6, and CAST in Doncaster from April 11-13. Tickets are available from The Blanket Fort Club website.