The very best local theatre in Peterborough this week

Season 5 kicks off with the return of Paddleboat Theatre with their new family show, RUSTLE, billed as “The Greatest Campfire Ever Told”.

Two outdoor performances are being staged at Brewster Avenue Infant School and West Town Academy, and then on October 13 there are public performances at The Undercroft Theatre in Hampton and St John’s Church in Cathedral Square.

Packed full of music, story-telling, puppets and audience interaction, Rustle will inspire children to go on an adventure in a forest, looking for monsters. Thanks to a partnership with Peterborough and District Deaf Children’s Society both Rustle shows also include BSL interpretation.

More adventures are to be had when teams of young people aged 7-12 will be taking over Peterborough Town Hall in GROUND CONTROL by Non Zero One on October 20, where the audience control a mission to decide the laws and lifestyle of a new planet. Maybe they will take over the council chamber next? Originally staged at London’s National Theatre the timing of this show’s tour to Peterborough’s city centre is perfect as afterwards you can take your young astronauts to see Tim Peake’s space capsule in the cathedral.

Luke Wright, last in the city in July compering for John Cooper Clarke, brings his one-man show, FRANKIE VAH to The Key on October 17. A blend of confessional stand-up segments, tender love scenes, pounding verbal explosions, archive film and new music, Frankie Vah is the story of a young idealistic lad from Essex exposed to bright city lights and the volatile politics of the 1980s - this is a poetry night that feels like a rock-gig.

Topping off the season is RENDEZVOUS IN BRATISLAVA, a time-travelling musical which feels a great fit for the city. Miriam Sherwood tells the stories and jokes of her grandfather, whom she never met, but she has his scripts, joke books, photos and recordings, from Czechoslovakia’s Nazi occupation through to the aftermath of the Prague Spring.

Rendezvous In Bratislava which is at The Key Theatre on October 19 and St Mark’s Church Hall on October 20 for a matinee will greatly appeal to anyone who loves family history or variety shows.

Local theatre-makers and theatre-lovers are also invited to Shall I Speak For You? a free event at The Key Theatre on October 16, where Jumped Up Theatre and Eastern Angles will give sneak previews of pieces in development and Small Nose Productions, Charley Genever and Keely Mills will be revealing what they are up to, plus a debate about what the future holds – though Platform8 shows that the city’s theatre scene is alive and kicking.

More information about all the shows and event, and for booking links can be found on www.jumpeduptheatre.com/platform8