Edinburgh Festival Fringe – SensoryO & BabyO

SensoryO Fri 9 to Mon 26 August, 10am daily (excluding Mon 12 and Mon 19 Aug) at Paterson’s Land .Venue 247, 37 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh.

BabyO Fri 9 to Mon 26 Aug, 11.30am daily (excluding Mon 12 and Mon 19 Aug) at Paterson’s Land. Venue 247, 37 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh.

For the very first time, Scottish Opera’s ground-breaking interactive shows for babies and toddlers – BabyO and SensoryO – are coming to Edinburgh Fringe.

Parents and infants can escape the hustle and bustle of The Fringe in brand new Festival venue Paterson’s Land, and enjoy these relaxing 30-minute performances for babies between six and 18 months, and toddlers aged 18 months to three years.

BabyO is set in a secret garden full of bees, ducks and fish, where the Scottish Opera singers combine recorded music with live singing and movement to help stimulate the beginnings of language development.

SensoryO takes toddlers on a magical, night-time train ride through the jungle where they encounter a friendly lion. Percussive sounds and a tactile set make this an engaging experience for children, full of sound, rhythm and music.

World firsts in their field, BabyO and SensoryO have enjoyed huge international success since they were first performed in 2009 and 2012, respectively. As well as sell-out UK shows they have won international acclaim, travelling to New Zealand’s Christchurch Arts Festival and the Abu Dhabi Arts Festival.

Composer Rachel Drury, who is currently working on the new Scottish Opera children’s Christmas show for three to five year olds, Platypus in Boots said:

“BabyO and SensoryO are very different from the usual children’s shows you get at the Fringe – ours features three professional opera singers, for a start!

“They are a peaceful, unique way for babies and toddlers to experience opera, and a very engaging half an hour. Not many of us can say the first time we saw opera was aged six months either!

“It is also important to remember that half the audience at these performances are parents and carers, so they are designed to be enjoyable for adults as well as children.”

Paterson’s Land will play host to three other Scottish Opera productions during The Fringe: Dance Derby and The Seven Deadly Sins, both co-productions with Company Chordelia, and Johnny McKnight and Gareth Williams’ short opera Last One Out. The latter is presented alongside John and Zinnie Harris’ new short opera, The Garden, both shows having been originally commissioned by Sound Festival and performed in Aberdeen to capacity audiences in 2012.