FREE Creative Summer 2026 Play Days in South Somerset

This summer the Octagon Theatre and Westlands Entertainment Venue in Yeovil are staging four FREE PlayDay events in four outdoor community settings within Somerset, to bring creative activities and live theatre to communities as part of the PlayDay initiative. 

PlayDays are a national initiative that celebrates children’s right to play. This year the theme, Play – here, there, everywhere, highlights the vital importance of creating accessible opportunities for children and young people to play freely and feel valued as part of their community, wherever they are.  This summer the Octagon Theatre & Westlands Entertainment Venue have planned a series of four PlayDays events, bringing creativity and opportunities to play directly to communities in Somerset.

This summer the Octagon Theatre & Westlands Entertainment Venue will be in Yeovil, Chard, Wincanton and Langport hosting one-day PlayDay events. The PlayDay events will be free for all to attend, taking place in local parks and recreation grounds, with the opportunity to play and get creative with other families, children and young people during the long summer holidays. Each of the PlayDays will run from 11am – 3pm with a variety of different creative workshops for families, children and young people to take part in.

There will be a range of activities on offer at each event from music-making to circus skills to willow weaving to face painting, alongside many other creative activities all of which will be free for families to take part in. To each PlayDay we will be joined by various local and national touring theatre companies, with a free live outdoor theatrical production, to entertain, inspire and educate audiences. Plus the events are being supported by South West Heritage Trust, Freedom Leisure, Young Somerset, Abri, Ark at Egwood, RSPCA, Balsam Centre, Langport Youth Group, LiveWest, Chard Community Hub, Avon & Somerset Police, Yeovil Country Park and Somerset Film, all of whom will be providing free activities for children and young people to take part in.

The first of the four PlayDay events will be taking place on Wednesday 5th August (which also coincides with the National Play Day) at Mudford Rec in Yeovil. At this event we will be joined by Cat & Mouse Theatre Co. with their production Blockbuster. Where children, young people and their families will step into Martin Bielspurg’s film venture, where you’re not just an audience but the beating heart of the movie! Audiences will join his stretched yet dedicated assistant Phil in one of a diverse range of roles—be it camera whiz, makeup artist, daring stunt double, or star beside the magnetic actor Charles Bexley-Heath. Each performance crafts an entirely unique experience, making every film a distinct adventure into the unpredictable world of cinema. Audience involvement sways the tale—it’s not just a show, but a chance to shape a film’s destiny.

The second PlayDay on Friday 7th August will be taking place at Chard Rugby Club in Chard. Here we will be joined by Tit for Tat Circus Theatre Company who will be performing their new show Disorder of Knights, where it has come to our attention that the Knightly Order has been accused of being old-fashioned, elitist, outdated, and utterly irrelevant to the modern day lives of the modern day people! But not to worry, for Tit for Tat’s clattering of steel-clad clowns believe that chivalry should be more alive today than ever before. It just needs a little… redefining. With circus-inspired weaponry, spectacular stupidity, community games, and absurd demonstrations of bravery - join us in a medieval medley of merriment and madness. They wowed audiences in Yeovil and Wincanton last year, and this year it is Chard’s turn to witness the madness.

The third PlayDay on Tuesday 11th August will be at Cale Park in Wincanton. Where The Herd Theatre will be performing their interactive show, Essential Playworks. Where audiences will be invited to join a team of playworkers to build, dress up, imagine, and fix the town through play. Part show, part game, part infrastructure project, Essential Playworks is a hilarious performance that gets children and their adults playing.

Our fourth and final PlayDay on Thursday 13th August will be alongside the River Parrett at Cocklemoor.  Where audiences can watch and take part in Cat & Mouse Theatre Co.’s brand new show, Stand & Deliver. A bold, interactive outdoor comedy performance from Cat & Mouse theatre, exploring justice, inequality and the legend of 18th-century highway robbers. Playful, immersive and thought-provoking, the show invites audiences to become the jury, re-enact crimes and decide the fate of the accused—asking deeper questions about poverty, punishment and truth. This joyful yet challenging piece caters for the visually impaired and was guided by historical experts.

The PlayDay events have been made possible thanks to The Octagon Theatre becoming an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) to support arts and cultural activities in Somerset. Each Play Day will be FREE to attend thanks to support received from Yeovil Town Council, Brympton Parish Council, Yeovil Without Parish Council, Wincanton Town Council and Langport Town Council.  The Arts Engagement and Outreach Team are striving to provide affordable, accessible arts activities and experiences in the heart of local communities and delivering four free PlayDays during the summer holidays is just part of their work.

For further information please contact: 
Katherine Beverley:  Katherine.beverley@somerset.gov.uk / 01935 462415
or Andrea MacLauchlan: andrea.maclauchlan@somerset.gov.uk / 01935 462053