Days Out: Rubbish at Lakeside!

YOUNGSTERS aged from six upwards will get some fun lessons on how to give new life to the things we chuck away thanks to a brilliant new puppet show coming to Lakeside Arts Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Rubbish is an innovative production designed to teach audiences how to engage with the ideas of waste and recycling in an entertaining way.

Presented by Theatre-Rites, one of the UK's leading children's theatre companies, the show imagines a world that celebrates trash – where at the touch of a puppeteer's hand, the contents of a bin bag come alive before your eyes.

Inspired by a culture which encourages us to constantly update and disregard stuff, Rubbish aims to show waste materials in a whole new light, celebrating all those unloved objects often left behind.

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A duckling formed from old tea things that have lost their shine, a boy made from bin bags and a jolly shoemaker crafted from old leather and tools are just a few of the enticing characters brought to life in the show's magical junkyard.

The performance features four excavators who will don protective gear as they rummage and scavenge through a mound of bin bags brimming with unloved garbage. And out of each bag an animate figure will be born.

Director Sue Buckminster explains: "We wanted to create a theatrical world that celebrated rubbish. But when we first started researching the subject, all the artists involved became overwhelmed with the sad stories and horrendous facts. We weren't sure if we could make a positive, fun show.

"As we spent more time playing and investigating with the rubbish, we discovered its humour, its mesmerizing beauty and the power of recycling and reusing."

The performance will also show young audiences the skills and processes modern puppeteers use to give life to inanimate materials.

Rubbish is inspired by a cabaret format, introducing the genre for a younger generation as each bin bag tells its own tale in a series of vignettes.

The aim is for audiences to think again about the idea of "value" and to create a new sense of respect for "scrap."

"Rubbish will allow children to engage with contemporary problems of national wastage in a fun and curious environment," Sue adds.

"With each enchanting tale, we capture children's imaginations, allowing them to experience the joy of rubbish. They may leave having learned a little more about recycling."

Theatre-Rites, formed in 1995, aims to feed the imaginations of young people and give them a memorable theatrical experience.

Bartons Spectacular Spectacular, tonight until Sunday indoor pop-up cinema with silent films, archive footage and screenings of classics such as It's A Wonderful Life (pictured), tickets £10, www.broadway.org.uk/bartons.

Family weekend, Nottingham Contemporary, Saturday and Sunday, 11am-3pm more drop-in activities for all ages, free, www.nottinghamcontemporary.org,

Robin Hood and the Dragon Nottingham Castle, Saturday, noon-3pm storytelling fun with the city's famous outlaw, £5, 0115 915 3700.

The Food Year in a Tudor Household – The Willoughbys at Wollaton Hall, Central Library, Saturday, 2pm illustrated talk, free, 0115 915 2873.

Steam and Diesel Trains, Great Central Railway, Ruddington, Saturday and Sunday enjoy a trip along the full length of the line as far as Loughborough Junction. Adults from £8, kids from £4, family from £20 (unlimited travel), 0115 940 5705/www.gcrn.co.uk.

Children's Newstead, Newstead Abbey, Sunday, 11am special kids' tour of the historic venue, £5 (plus parking £6), 01623 455900.

The Nightingale, Lakeside Arts Centre, Sunday, 1.30pm and 3.30pm show for kids aged 4+ years, £6.50, 0115 846 7777/www.lakesidearts.org.uk.