4 fun family time things to do in Inverness this weekend
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Julia Donaldson and Axel Schiffler's Tales From Acorn Wood theatre show, two 12A movies, a classic children's film and a new set of outdoor events for parents and toddlers at Inverness Botanic Gardens ...
1 Inverness Botanics fun for toddlers and parents
Join in the fun at free sessions outdoors with Peep – for toddlers and parents – at Inverness Botanic Gardens starting on Tuesday, August 29 for six weeks, from 10.30-11.30am. There will be outdoor play, storytime, singing and learning through play. If you are interested in going along:
2 Enter stage left ... an offbeat 12A movie
The life-affirming comedy-drama-musical Theater Camp (12A) will be loved by fans of the stage – with plentiful in-jokes – but it does not exclude mainstream audiences from enjoying a battle to resuscitate the Adirond ACTS theatre company. The film is a celebration of people who live and breathe life the stage, with a faux documentary format which means the cameras roam the hallways, performance spaces and cabins of a youth theatre camp in upstate New York. There emotional meltdowns and artistic differences happen and the script finds comedy in actors, acting techniques and different sides of stagecraft. There are some big laughs as when one sneaky young newcomer is outed for using a banned substance to help her cry –“Tear sticks are doping for actors!”. Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris),of the Adirond ACTS theatre camp for children, suffers a severe reaction to strobe lighting in a student production and slips into a coma. Her well-intentioned vlogger son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) assumes control of camp, applying his “entrepreneurial” spirit to keep various debtors at bay. He hopes to impress a financial consultant (Patti Harrison). The creme de la creme of students are handpicked for an original musical written by Amos and Rebecca-Diane entitled Still Joan, dedicated to their comatose leader Joan. Shy technical director Glenn Wintrop shows hidden talents that mean he moves from wielding the spotlight – to standing proudly in it! The performance of Still Joan is surprisingly moving and almost delivers on Troy’s promise to “blow the roof off” his mother’s ICU. The film comes to Eden Court and Vue Cinema on Friday, August 25 at various times.
3 Lift the flap on Acorn Wood life ...
The world of Julia Donaldson & Axel Schiffler's Tales From Acorn Wood Live! is coming to Eden Court with just two performances – Friday, August 25 at 1.30pm and Saturday, August 26 at 10.30am, with a selection of stories – Rabbit's Nap, Foxes Socks, Hide And Seek Pig and Postman Bear – from the popular books, turned into a show suitable for youngsters one and over.
4 And another special 12A offering ...
Receiving its UK premiere as the opening night gala of Sundance Film Festival in London, Scrapper (12A) is on at Vue Cinema on Wednesday, August 23 at 7pm and then again on Wednesday, September 6 at 6.45pm. Writer-director Charlotte Regan’s debut feature is a British comedy drama exploring loss through the eyes of 12-year-old Georgie (Lola Campbell), who has been living alone in an east London council house since the death of her mother. The imaginative adolescent has survived on her own by convincing social services and the mother of a best friend (Alin Uzun) that her uncle Winston is taking care of her. But Georgie is surviving hand to mouth with small-scale thefts. But when her estranged father Jason (Harris Dickinson), who has been living in Ibiza, shows up, he threatens to expose his daughter’s secret unless she lets him into the house.
HEADS UP
A classic children's movie ...
Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory: 1971 (U) A poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory. Remember not to miss this classic starring Gene Wilder, on at Vue Cinema on Friday, September 1 (and Sunday, September 3), both days at 3.15pm.
