Delve into our trunk of tremendous tales and join Really Big Pants Theatre Company on amazing adventures!
Presenting theatre with serious messages in a playful way
Our awesome shows use the primary curriculum (and some really big pants) to inspire, educate, and entertain children aged 3-11 in your school, arts centre or community venue
“Absolutely brilliant – wonderful, original, fun and touching performance. So lovely – please come back soon!”
Family, Brentwood Theatre
“Thank you again for such a magical performance. The entire audience, from Year 1 through to Year 6, was totally gripped by the wonderful world you created. We will definitely be inviting you back”
Y4 teacher, Old Oak Primary
HELLO!
We are Joe and Willow, proud wearers of really big pants for ten years, and we believe children’s theatre is absolutely vital. Our shows are unique interactive events that help build empathy, offer enrichment, boost mental health and wellbeing, inspire creativity, and bring joy. We know how tight budgets are but our children need these experiences more than ever – the play’s the thing! For primary schools, our live and online shows support learning and provide sheer entertainment on occasions such as World Book Day, Science Week, World Environment Day, Anti-Bullying Week, Poetry Day, Halloween, Christmas, or as an end of term treat… and we love sharing our stories with family audiences in theatres, arts centres, libraries, museums, community centres, hospitals, bookshops, and at lit fests too! (Did we mention we have illustrated books as well?) Read on to find out more about each show and news of what our really big pants are up to…
HO HO HO (A REALLY BIG NON-PANTO SHOW): our magical festive offering for the whole primary age range – with the Christmas spirit live and online!
SUDDENLY…!: a fast, fun twist on traditional tales for KS1 and KS2 (ages 6-11) with live and online versions and an accompanying illustrated chapter book
PLUNDERED!: a live environmental quest battling a dastardly litterbug pirate for Reception, KS1 and KS2 (ages 5-11)
WONKY: tackling bullying and self-esteem via rap (and wonky vegetables) for Y1-6 (ages 6-11) with live and online versions and an accompanying illustrated poetry book
CLARE AND CORY SHARE A (GLORIOUS) STORY: a live (and glorious) story about sharing, exploring, and daring for EYFS/KS1 (ages 3-7) with a matching picture book
THE REALLY BIG LOVE BOOK DAY PLAY: a short show packed with puppets, tempting children to pick up a book for EYFS/KS1 (ages 3-7) with live and online versions
ISN’T SCIENCE AMAZING!: a highly visual online treat encouraging children to be curious about the world for EYFS/KS1 (ages 3-7)
THE RHYMES AND CRIMES OF NAUGHTY JACK: an online extravaganza using puppets and rhymes to support phonics and play for EYFS/KS1 (ages 3-7)
A GHOST STORY: a spooky short online show with a creative writing challenge for Y5-6 (ages 9-11)… if you’re brave enough…
NEWS!
2024 is a really big year for our really big pants as we celebrate our tenth anniversary! On 21 July we marked a decade since our first performance and we’d like to say a really big thank you to our friends and supporters for all the love. We’ve been proudly looking back at our achievements, and looking ahead at creating a specialised sensitive show called COMFORT to support child bereavement, plus a show that is out of this world AND an adaptation of one of our online shows – stay tuned for our 2025 pants plans!
Christmas is coming… and we are delighted to be part of the Starlight Festive Tour this year! We’re performing our heartwarming interactive festive offering: HO HO HO (A REALLY BIG NON-PANTO SHOW) in children’s play areas in hospitals. Alf is an elf on the edge. He’s stuck selling trees on Christmas Eve and thinks his sister won’t want him to spend Christmas with her as he can’t afford a gift. Can a kind (but slightly chaotic) really big fairy help him realise the season of goodwill is more about presence than presents…? Join us as we explore family values and Yuletide traditions, sing carols – and go on a wild sledge ride! – in this thirty-minute show, and get crafty making simple picture frames from card and paper chains with us. Find out more about this wonderful national charity providing play in children’s healthcare at Starlight. We wish everyone a very happy and healthy festive season.
And if you’re a primary school looking for a last-minute treat this December, we have an online version of HO HO HO for only £40 per school and you can share it with different classes over a week, and still get crafty afterwards! Watch the trailer here and book now by emailing childrenstheatre@reallybigpants.co.uk – we ho ho hope ‘yule’ love our show!
We’re very proud of our ongoing partnership with the Mayor’s Fund for London as part of the Kitchen Social entertainment programme for children’s provision during the school holidays. We perform our shows in hubs around the city and know just how vital it is that kids have access to enrichment experiences alongside nourishing food.
ADVENTURERS ASSEMBLE! We are v(&a) excited to have worked with the Young V&A Museum for a story-making project! We performed our time-travelling adventure in primary schools in Tower Hamlets, encouraging children to imagine and create stories inspired by objects from the vast collection, and visit the fabulous museum. Here’s what Cayley Primary had to say: “So joyful! A perfect interactive assembly – everyone really engaged and excited – very good detail on props and very good for wellbeing. Imaginative and challenging – perfect springboard for storytelling!” And Mowlem Primary said: “The show was amazing and enjoyed thoroughly by all staff and children.”
We’ve been sharing news about our really big pants on social media for ages, but have decided to leave Twitter for Instagram. We’re still on Facebook but the question is – are we too old for TikTok…?
And check out our YouTube channel – as well as all the trailers for our online shows, we’ve recorded some readings of our stories and poems and bits and bobs. Watch a taste of our theatre shows below! Love from Joe and Willow and our really big pants xx
- Thrilling theatre! Stupendous stories! Exciting education!
And some really big pants