Teatrino Meccanico will be at Swords Castle this month with a brand new interactive show. River Crossing was created to invite visitors of all ages to physically interact with what’s on the stage and directly influence the stories created there. The mechanical theatre will retain its classic look and feel, including plush deep red theatre curtains, broad stage and trap-door feature in the facade for Mabel the friendly half-feline half-wolf puppet to make her special appearances, but the entire set and main characters will be entirely new for this year’s offering.
Drawing upon old children’s tales and poems, River Crossing features a friendly Owl and Pussy Cat, complete with their pea-green boat and a host of other delightful puppets such as a brightly coloured array of sea-serpents, baby badgers and otters. An entirely new mechanism was purpose-built for the stage to propel the rowing boat from one side of the stage to the other, but unlike in previous shows, this year the wheels and levers for operating the mechanisms will all be facing the front of the stage, in full view of the audience. Instead of hiding the controls away I decided to invite my audience to participate in the wonders of engineering and get stuck in to the action!
River Crossing will be on show at The Festival of Children’s Literature 2026 at Swords Castle on Saturday 26th September. You can find us in the Castle Grounds from 11am till 4pm.
River Crossing will be on show at The Festival of Children’s Literature 2026 at Swords Castle on Saturday 26th September. You can find us in the Castle Grounds from 11am till 4pm.
