Ten in the Bed poster image
Is it a bed? Or a boat? Or a giant slice of toast? For Naz and Iggy and their eight friends, their bed is a place where imagination can fill their tummies with tasty treats and take them to familiar warm places. Well, sometimes.
Join the boat-bed’s disparate crew as they dream up playful tales of pirates, misunderstood sharks and fishing trips that hook some unexpected catches. But what happens if the bed is not big enough to fit everyone in? How do they decide who gets to stay and who has to go?
This humorous and inventive new show celebrates the power of imaginary play and proves there’s always enough room to have fun, even when the world is at its most daunting.
Written by award-winning teenage fiction writer Steve Tasane (Child I, Blood Donors), Ten in the Bed sensitively explores the child refugee experience, where the power of invention offers an escape from reality.
Ten in the Bed was initially developed as part of Narratives of Empathy and Resilience, a major artform development project that took place in 2021 and was a continuation of Half Moon’s long-term ambition to create stories that reflect our diverse community, as well as support under-represented artists in developing their practice.
The show toured to 18 venues in May-June 2024.
Featuring the voices and snores of Androulla Constantiou, Maleki Green, Stephen Beeny and Rori Endersby.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “A captivating production that celebrates the power of imagination and the resilience of the human spirit. The clever set design, evocative lighting and complementary musical score create an immersive experience that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. This enchanting show is a must-see for families, offering a delightful blend of humour, empathy and imaginative storytelling. Ten in the Bed delivers a meaningful and enjoyable experience that underscores the importance of inclusion, fosters hope, and showcases the limitless potential of imaginative play.
All About Theatre
“A positive tale with lots of smiles for a young audience…. A beautiful example of reimagining a difficult world through friendship and fun to make it a better place…. It has deep questions woven in, which definitely prompt further conversation”
Everything Theatre
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Powerful, insightful, moving”
Susan Elkin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “A happy yet serious play that doesn’t shy away from moral and ethical issues”
Lou Reviews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Writer Tasane shows considerable personal, professional, and political maturity in Ten in the Bed‘s script. For adults, this is a salutory anecdote to media hysteria around immigration”
Lou Reviews
“Delightful new production… For many, this may have been their first experience of live theatre, and it was clearly an extremely positive one… An entertaining production that offers young audiences an insight into the refugee experience in a sensitive and thought-provoking way. Perfectly striking the balance between fun and frightening, it brilliantly demonstrates the healing power of play.
The Family Stage
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Went to see Ten in the Bed today and was completely blown away. My 4-year-old and not even 2-year-old were captivated the whole way through. It was funny and poignant and the acting was brilliantly expressive and physical to help kids follow the dialogue. I want all my friends to take their kids to see it but it’s only on this week! The theatre staff themselves were very welcoming. We’ll be back!”
Audience member
“Genuinely brilliant – the small intimate space works so well to keep small children engaged vs a massive theatre. The acting was brilliant and the physicality and expressiveness of the actors helped the kids to follow the dialogue. Having a play that explored some themes almost through standalone skits vs one long plot was a good format for the target age group as well. Plus I also loved it as an adult”
Audience member
“We all loved the production. It was interesting to find out what the kids were most impressed with. As an adult, it was emotional to watch”
Audience member
“Best piece of children’s theatre I’ve seen”
Audience member
“Very fun and creative”
Audience member
“This was such a powerful show! Thanks so much”
Audience member
“So engaging and beautiful”
Audience member
“One of the best shows I have seen; our classes were both excited and captivated by the creative imaginative play of the actors as well as seeing a sensitive portrayal of the hardship other children experience – it totally tapped into the need for my children to explore empathy towards others – and I found it beautifully moving too. Thank you.”
Teacher feedback
Tell me more about Ten in the Bed, what is the show about?
It is about how play, laughter and imagination create a home. At the beginning of the play, the boys in the bed are hungry and timid; they are a little bit lost. They know where they’ve come from, but have no idea where they are. As they relive their journey through silliness and play, the room they have found themselves in comes to feel warmer, more welcoming. As they play together, and bond through their nighttime adventures, they increasingly feel at home.
It is play within a play. Laughter overcomes fear; games make the boys feel stronger together. For the weak, the tiny and the hungry. The only tool they have with which to protect themselves is laughter.
Why did you want to write Ten in the Bed?
I wanted to write a play for young children that would delight and entertain, but with a serious underlying message that would be felt rather than told. I wanted the boys in the bed to be the agents of their own recovery, to take charge of life events that had always been totally out of their control; for the boys to reconstruct their own narrative – the story of the refugee journey. A journey that ends with full bellies, a roomful of toys and – crucially – a bed which always has enough space for them all to sleep easy and warm.
What was the inspiration for the show?
The power and magic of wishful thinking. The indefatigable power of the imagination. And, of course, the childhood song, which reminded me of sharing a bed with one of my brothers throughout my childhood, and once, staying at our uncle’s house where there was only one bed for the four of us brothers to sleep in – and I was the little one!
What were you trying to achieve with the play?
I wanted to show that there is always hope, and that hope is born in the mind of a child. Hope is shattered by the weapons of men. But children will always be born, children will always keep on coming, and they arrive with laughter and play and love and belonging – the most potent weapons on the planet.
How did the piece come to fruition?
I was one of the artists engaged in Half Moon’s Narratives of Empathy and Resilience – a brilliant title in itself! Artists working in all different forms came together to play – like the Big Kids we are – and create – like the Freelance Artists we are – in a safe space where we could inspire each other and be nurtured by the Half Moon team, given an opportunity to sound out our ideas and have the privilege of seeing snippets of our ideas acted out by real actors, with real directors, real technicians and designers, on the Half Moon stage, to get an idea of how our theatrical nuggets might look if they became actual, real touring pieces of theatre. The full commission came from that.
Why do the issues in Ten in the Bed particularly resonate with you?
I think because I lost my three brothers, over the years, to the long-term effects of childhood trauma, and I found that incredibly painful. It made me long for the days of our childhoods, the endless summer afternoons of playing games, losing ourselves in our imaginations, and being able to forget the stresses of the real world that surrounded us. We felt safe in those moments, safe with each other, and free. I wanted to harness that power and revisit that sense of comfort.
Ten in the Bed celebrates the power of imaginary play. Why is this so important?
Imaginary play is the first step of an artist’s journey. It is shaping a narrative in whatever way we wish to shape it. It is self-made therapy. If we lose that sense of play, we lose ourselves. This is why all creative narratives – novels, musicals, soap operas, comic books, movies, pop songs and poetry – remain vital to our wellbeing as adults and continue to do so through old age. It begins with the child playing ‘let’s pretend’. I wanted Ten In The Bed to embrace that philosophy.
What can audiences look forward to?
Sharks getting bonked on the head. Pirate jokes. Giant slices of toast roll over the ocean waves like edible life rafts. Cake, and more cake! The sillibilliness of midnight chitterchat.
Describe the show in three words.
Family. Fun. Friendship.
What would you like audiences to take with them after seeing the show?
I’d like them to feel buzzed up and want to invent fresh games of their own, to celebrate being in the moment and, subconsciously, to begin shaping a more positive future.
What advice would you give to young people hoping to follow in your footsteps as a writer?
Do it for yourself, first. Then, do it for your friends. Then, do it for your family. Then and only then, do it for the fame and riches!
And finally, why should people book a ticket to watch Ten in the Bed?
If you’re wondering how to escape this world, escape into this world of wonder.
We’re always moving forward at Half Moon. Our Spring Season of theatre for young audiences has just drawn to a close, but we’re about to start rehearsals for Ten in the Bed, a brand new show that has been in development since 2021 and opens our Summer Season on Saturday 4 May.
Written by award-winning teenage fiction writer Steve Tasane (Child I, Blood Donors), this humorous and inventive new show for ages 3-8 sensitively explores the child refugee experience, where the power of invention offers an escape from reality. It celebrates the power of imaginary play and proves there’s always enough room to have fun, even when the world is at its most daunting.
Ten in the Bed follows Naz and Iggy and their eight friends. Their bed is a place where imagination can fill their tummies with tasty treats and take them to familiar warm places. Well, sometimes.
Audiences can join the boat-bed’s disparate crew as they dream up playful tales of pirates, misunderstood sharks and fishing trips that hook some unexpected catches. But what happens if the bed is not big enough to fit everyone in? How do they decide who gets to stay and who has to go?
“I wanted to write a play for young children that would delight and entertain, but with a serious underlying message that would be felt rather than told,” explains Steve Tasane, the writer of Ten in the Bed.
“I wanted the boys in the bed to be the agents of their own recovery, to take charge of life events that had always been totally out of their control; for the boys to reconstruct their own narrative – the story of the refugee journey. A journey that ends with full bellies, a roomful of toys and – crucially – a bed which always has enough space for them all to sleep easy and warm.”
The story is told by two wonderful performers, Hari Kang and Hayden Mampasi, who has just finished playing Romeo in Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theatre and recently won the Best Supporting Male Actor Award at The Black British Theatre Awards.
Ten in the Bed opens at Half Moon on 4 May, before heading off on a 10-week nationwide tour. It returns 4-11 June. Tickets cost £7 from www.halfmoon.org.uk
Stephen Beeny is the Communications Manager at Half Moon
How does Half Moon Theatre’s programming fit in with London’s other venues catering to children?
Half Moon is a local theatre. It has been rooted in the community of the East End and Tower Hamlets since 1972 and has become the UK’s leading small-scale young people’s venue and touring company. We give young people from birth to 18 (25 for disabled young people) an opportunity to experience the best in young people’s theatre, both as an audience member and also as a participant.
Unlike many other London venues, we don’t offer a 6-days-a-week, year-round programme of shows for young audiences, but concentrate on Saturday shows and weekday schools’ shows for around nine months of the year. This gives us more time for our extensive creative learning programme, which includes eight Youth Theatres, Creative Play sessions for babies and After School Drama clubs that take place across the borough.
We do, however, work closely with other venues that specialise in theatre for your audiences – we’re currently co-producing Soft or Spiky?, a new baby show, with Polka Theatre (as well as touring Ten in the Bed to them for five days next month); plus Litle Angel Theatre are regular visitors to us with their hugely inventive puppet shows.
We also have an extensive On Demand streaming service featuring some of our recent productions.
Tell me more about Ten In The Bed. What should audiences expect?
Sharks getting bonked on the head. Pirate jokes. Giant slices of toast roll over the ocean waves like edible life rafts. Cake, and more cake! It’s humorous, inventive and celebrates the power of imaginary play, proving there’s always enough room to have fun, even when the world is at its most daunting.
It’s written by award-winning teenage fiction writer Steve Tasane and sensitively explores the child refugee experience, where the power of invention offers an escape from reality. Steve said he’d like audiences to “feel buzzed up and want to invent fresh games of their own, to celebrate being in the moment and, subconsciously, to begin shaping a more positive future.”
The show looks at child refugees, a very timely topic. How do you ensure a show has the right tone to reach your target age group?
Ten in the Bed has been in development since 2021. During this time it has been workshopped with young people and undergone many changes to ensure it is age appropriate. Throughout rehearsals, it will also be refined further to make sure young audiences enjoy and understand it. We also hope that the themes of the play will spark a post-show conversation with children and their families.
Steve has said that he wanted to write a play for young children that would delight and entertain, but with a serious underlying message that would be felt rather than told. He wanted the children in the bed to be the agents of their own recovery, to take charge of life events that had always been totally out of their control; for them to reconstruct their own narrative – the story of the refugee journey. A journey that ends with full bellies, a roomful of toys and – crucially – a bed which always has enough space for them all to sleep easy and warm.
Shows for children increasingly tackle tough questions from intriguing angles. Do you think this is an essential part of the theatre landscape today?
Absolutely! We must never underestimate the ability of young people to relate to difficult themes and learn from them. Theatre has the power to promote critical thinking, empathy, emotional intelligence, resilience and social action. This empowers young people to navigate a complex and ever-changing world with courage, compassion and curiosity.
What’s next for the show and the theatre?
After opening at Half Moon Theatre on Saturday 4 May 2024, Ten in the Bed heads off on a 10-week nationwide tour visiting 17 venues, including the Migration Matters Festival in Sheffield during Refugee Week, which is the perfect fit for our production! It returns to Half Moon at the beginning of June to launch our Summer Season, when we’ll also film the show for release on our On Demand theatre streaming service.
The rest of the Summer Season features two wonderful productions, The Marvellous Myth Hunter for ages 5-11 (20-22 June) and Claytime for ages 0-8. We’ll launch our autumn season at the end of July, so sign up to our newsletter and social media channels to be the first to hear what’s coming soon.
The therapy house boxes that feature in the design were made by the members of Half Moon’s Orbit and Lunar Youth Theatres.
Special thanks to Mark Conway and Ryan Rajan Mal for the research and development stage of Ten in the Bed; Tobi Sidiku and Ryan Rajan Mal for appearing in the promotional photos and marketing campaign for the show.
In March 2021 Half Moon was awarded an Arts Council grant for Narratives of Empathy and Resilience, a major artform development project. Ten in the Bed (then called 10-In-The-Bed) began as part of this and we would like to thank the artists involved: Kenneth Omole (Naz), John Omole (Iggy), James Perry, Stephen Bailey, Samuel Baker, Callum Thomson, Esther Rennae Walker and David Lane
Have you got a memory you’d like to share? Or perhaps you have a programme or poster from one of our shows that we're currently missing? Then we want to hear from you! The website is a living archive and we will continue to add information as it comes to light.
Read More
