Oh, how the world has changed since the last #CulturedKids March edition! A forceful reminder of how fragile humankind and economy are, Covid 19 new realities brought to us all huge changes, anxieties and challenges. Is culture in quarantine with kids possible? We say absolutely, plus much needed!
Whilst our days are filled with remote work and homeschooling, we need culture more than ever at evenings and in the week-ends. I personally find the period exhausting, very demanding and utterly stressful. But clinging on to that one hour in the nature self-distancing and the art brought some relief to the fast-paced disruptions and utterly sad news. So rather than sobbing desperately in my pillow, we’ve been exploring the woods nearby and binging on theatre and shows whenever we get the chance. Thank you so much to all the worldwide institutions making serious efforts to connect with us all and making culture in quarantine happen!
From Sadler’s Wells we loved BalletBoyz’ Ripple – beautiful and striking (grown up performance, perfect pairing with a glass of full body red wine). For young kids and families, Rumplestilstiltskin ballet is great for tea or early dinner.
Later in the evening we loved Cirque du Soleil special editions – March 27th collage of Kurious, O and Luzia is fabulous (have seen and raved about the last 2 at the Bellagio in Vegas and Royal Albert Hall). April 3rd Cirque du Soleil collage has Amaluna, Bazaar and Volta – it brought goose bumps and tears eve from watching in our living.
Royal Opera House treated us with Peter and the Wolf ( 2010) and Acis and Galatea (2009) plus we are utterly excited about seeing again Così fan tutte (from 10 April 7pm onwards) – all super easy via its Youtube and FB pages.
Royal Albert Hall has online storytelling sessions, orchestra workshops, fun colouring sheets;as well as programme of free, nightly streamed shows, direct from artists’ living rooms : Rufus Wainwright, Baxter Dury, Ayanna Witter-Johnson and Roddy Woombl announced so far.
The kids finished already a mountain of books, Wind in the Willows amidst the collection so we’ll be watching soon 2017 musical from Palladium. National Geographic kids April edition is also available these days for free, like a thon of Audiobooks – a much appreciated help to all parents who need to work with urgent deadlines and no childcare in sight. Theritage concierge has also a brilliant guide, including global museums to see from your sofa, concerts and opera streaming, interactive apps, mindfulness, Netflix and chill – super handy for the upcoming Easter long week-end.
And talking about Easter week-end, Andrea Bocelli will perform live from Milan’s empty Duomo Cathedral, to be streamed exclusively on Andrea’s YouTube channel. And on Good Friday the Royal Choral Society will perform Handel’s Messiah virtually 4:35pm (BST), to continue a Royal Albert Hall tradition that has been going for 144 years – broken only by the Blitz.
What have you been up to and how are you coping? Hoping all of you are as well as possible in the current circumstances and looking to hearing from you all! Travel posts, culture or anything you’ve written in those challenging times WELCOME!
My lovely co-host Megan at Truly Madly Kids and I loved reading all the link ups from last month and our favourites have been Soviet-Era Automobiles and Cult Classic Cars at the Riga Motor Museum, Latvia and Moscow and winter wonderland activities. Congrats!
Physical distancing may be the new norm for Covid 19 realities with kids or without; but connecting with culture lovers is more important than ever! Bring on the #Quarantineculture to help us navigate through the sea of bad news and soothe us all!