Garden Gremlins is heading to Migration Matters Festival
We’re excited to announce that Mafwa Theatre is taking part in Migration Matters Festival in Sheffield with a special session of our early years project, Garden Gremlins!
Taking place on Saturday 28 June 2025, this will be the first time Garden Gremlins travels outside of Leeds and we’re thrilled to be bringing it to a festival celebrating migration, sanctuary, and creativity.
This year, our session is being programmed as part of Mini Mig Matters - a strand of fun, free family events designed to introduce young people to the conversation around migration in creative and accessible ways. Curated in collaboration with Stand & Be Counted Theatre, Mini Mig Matters invites children and their grownups to explore stories of welcome, identity, and belonging through play, performance and hands-on activities.
What is Garden Gremlins?
Led by artist Beatrice Knowles, Garden Gremlins offers children the chance to explore open-ended play with natural materials. There’s no “right way” to play here - just time, space, and support to notice, explore, and imagine.
Originally launched in Lincoln Green in 2024, the sessions offer a welcoming, imaginative outdoor environment where little ones can explore sensory play using everyday objects.
Garden Gremlins invites children to express themselves, build confidence, and ignite their imaginations - all while grownups have a chance to slow down, take a breather, and connect with others.
At Migration Matters, we’ll be bringing that same ethos with us: a space where families can feel at ease, be creative together, and enjoy being part of something joyful.
Looking for free things to do with your kids in Sheffield this summer? Come and play with us!
Saturday 28 June 2025
10:00am–2:00pm
The Montgomery, 27 Surrey Street, Sheffield, S1 2LG
Tickets are free, but booking is required
About Migration Matters
Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, Migration Matters Festival is a city-wide programme of performances, workshops, and events that platform migrant voices and celebrate sanctuary in Sheffield.
We’re proud to be part of this year’s line-up alongside artists, organisers, and communities from across the UK, all coming together to imagine new futures rooted in care, solidarity, and creativity.