Fun-filled family theatre shows give festival taster

Photo: Alex Brenner

Family theatre performance The Rascally Diner will be staged in Rochdale town centre and at Queen’s Park in Heywood

Free outdoor family theatre shows are rolling into Rochdale and Heywood next month.

The free taster events are being staged this June in anticipation of the launch of a new family event called the Feel Good Family Picnic, which starts in 2023. Over the Platinum Jubilee weekend of Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 June the LASTheatre Company will be performing their fun-filled madcap show for children ‘The Rascally Diner’.

Described as a joyful outdoor show for children and families aged five-plus, it explores food, sustainability, and healthy eating in a silly, song-filled, riotous performance, complete with water pistols, songs, dances and lots of jokes. It features chef Rufus Skumskins O’Parsley, who is famous for creating some of the world’s most disgusting dishes in the award-winning children’s book The Rascally Cake, written by Jeanne Willis and Korky Paul.

On Saturday 4 June The Rascally Diner will be staged in Rochdale, performed outside Number One Riverside in the town centre, and on Sunday 5 June at Queen’s Park in Heywood. There are two 50-minute shows on each day at 11am and 1pm. 

The shows are supported by WithoutWalls and Arts Council England, entry is free although there will be an option to make a donation, and no booking is required.

Rochdale Council originally revealed plans for the Feel Good Family Picnic in 2020, a new free annual summer event organised by the team behind Rochdale Feel Good Festival, promising a huge day of activities, performances, sports and shows for children and a ‘magical day out in a beautiful setting.’ They were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic but the council and its partners plan to launch the event in 2023.

Councillor Janet Emsley, cabinet member for events, said: “We were so excited about the Feel Good Family Picnic and had booked some fantastic acts so we have these brilliant Rascally Diner outdoor theatre shows coming up and are planning other tasters later in the year. We will also be focusing on making the first Feel Good Family Picnic truly amazing. This year we are running a smaller programme of events that we can deliver with available resources before we return to a fuller line-up in 2023 but there’s still a lot to be excited about.”

LAStheatre who are performing the ‘Rascally Diner’ shows are an award-winning theatre company based in the UK. Their shows tackle important and complex ideas in surprising, joyous and participatory ways; harnessing puppetry, live music, circus and immersive technologies.

For more information, please visit:

• Saturday 4 June in Rochdale town centre www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/events/69643/
• Sunday 5 June in Queen's Park, Heywood www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/events/69644/