Family theatre show Cape Custard tours the Black Country this summer

Posted on Fri 12 Jun

A brand new theatre show for all the family is set to tour the Black Country this summer, with all the action taking place in a magical inflatable theatre.

Cape Custard - A Lighthouse Adventure is the latest production from Smethwick-based theatre company Black Country Touring.

The thirty minute shows are aimed at children and grown-ups of all ages. The production will pop up in locations around the Black Country during the summer holidays, with audiences invited to pay-what-you-can for tickets.

Cape Custard - A Lighthouse Adventure is a thrilling, fun-filled quest where our heroes discover that the toughest repairs aren’t always mechanical. It’s a bright, bold, and heartwarming story about bridging the gap with those who feel different, and discovering what truly matters. A broken light on Cape Custard’s majestic lighthouse sets the scene for mystical mayhem and a madcap adventure. A lens fitter sent all the way from Smethwick’s famous Chance Glassworks meets Cape Custard’s unconventional keeper. Together, they’re on a mission to fix a life-saving marvel of modern technology.

This adventurous tale is inspired by the production of lighthouses at Chance Brothers Glassworks in the heart of Smethwick. The factory pioneered the development of lenses that continue to save lives on treacherous seas the world over, from the Cornish coast to Hawaii, and Karachi to Zanzibar.

Black Country Touring are working with Chance Heritage Trust to create an archive of stories from people who worked at the Chance Brothers Glassworks, remember the factory in its heyday, or have stories of relatives who worked there. Some of these stories have inspired this new family theatre show.

Genevieve Say, Artistic Director of Black Country Touring, comments: “This new production will explore some of the stories of the workers who travelled from the Black Country across the globe to work and install the famous lighthouse lenses from Chance Glass. What a rich mine of stories there is to tell! We’re particularly excited to try out our new pop-up inflatable theatre, which allows us to travel to new places around the region and provide some great experiences for families this summer.”

Dates include: