The Enchanted Cinema: Enchanted Creatures and How To Become One

Help the enchanted cinema create the sound effects to much-loved animations using instruments, hands and voices in an interactive workshop. A ticket must be booked for everyone attending the workshop. Each session lasts for one hour.

Please keep phones away in bags – this is a device-free wild rumpus! Food and drink are not allowed in the Pavilion. Please note that the Pavilion is at the top of the Gardens, accessed from our London Road entrance via a hill. ‘Enchanted Creatures and How to Become One’ brings animated tales from around the world to life, from dancing frogs and a blue-grassing grasshopper to a hedgehog lost in the fog.

These films are accompanied by a live score performed on hand-crafted instruments made by young people from the Wilderwoods education initiative as well as contributions from four continents across the globe. You’ll use unique instruments as well as hands and voices to become enchanted creatures, before joining together to animate the screen. Your score will add rhythm, music and effects to every story.

From Lotte Reiniger’s shadow-puppet magic, through the misty dream-world of Yuri Norstein’s Hedgehog in the Fog, to the wild rumpus of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, cinema becomes something you can hear, feel and play. Guided by musicians Caelia (violin) and Kieron (guitar, keyboard), the enchanted creatures bring every cue and effect to life as the films unfold as part of a magical orchestra. Visitor information: This event is aimed at children aged 5 -12 and their grown-ups.

Tickets: Each session last 1 hour. Child £10, Adult £10, Babes in arms £0, Access companions £0. Location: Pavilion - near the Bandstand at the top of the Gardens.

Perfect for: Families Children 4-12 ACCESS: Assistance animals welcome, Seating available, Tactile elements, Wheelchair accessible. Dates: 22 and 23 July 2026. Times: Various times.