The Centre for Theatre for Young Audiences lead Jeremy Harrison is currently working with Makers of Imaginary Worlds on The Garden, an ambitious project developed as part of Playground‘s Festival, Kent’s first early years festival, celebrating the creativity of babies, young children and their families, across Kent in May 2026.
Jeremy is collaborating with researchers Elena Giannaccini, Caroline Zheng and Helen Payne from the Turing AI Fellowship research project Somabotics: Creatively Embodying AI, led by Professor Steve Benford at the University of Nottingham and Lakeside Arts.
The collaboration brings together early years creativity, sensory design, and cutting-edge robotics to explore how technology can enhance interactive experiences for babies, children and families. The output will be an immersive, responsive environment in which children can influence sound, light, and movement through gentle play.
Drawing on Playground core principles of creative exploration, accessibility, and child-led interaction, The Garden combines Jeremy’s expertise in Theatre for Young Audiences with Nottingham University’s research into human–robot interaction, embodiment, soma design, and intelligent environments, in a collaboration led by Dr Roma Patel and Rachel Clementine of Maker’s of Imaginary Worlds, who specialist in creating touring art installations for children under 10 years old.
The aim is to discover new ways in which technology can support curiosity and communication, particularly for babies, young children and their families by integrating soft robotics and adaptive digital elements that respond to real-time movement and touch, creating a space that evolves with each child’s engagement.
This residency-style collaboration reflects Playground’s ongoing commitment to innovation and interdisciplinary practice. The project will inform future approaches to early years creative play, offering new insights into how artists, technologists and researchers can work together to expand the possibilities of sensory theatre and inclusive design.
The Garden will take place as part of Playground Festival from Sat 25 Apr – Sun 5 Jul 2026 at The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge in Canterbury. Offering a calm, enchanting environment where imagination blossoms and every interaction reveals something new, this activity is aimed at babies and young children 0-5 year.
Jeremy Harrison is leads the Theatre for Young Audiences Pathway of the MA/MFA in Performance, ensuring that the next generation of artists and practitioners are trained to create bold, relevant and socially engaged work for young people.
Curious about your creative career?
Find out more about the Young Audiences Pathway of the MA/MFA in Performance.
Guided by world-leading experts and practitioners, this programme will challenge you to critically engage with the cutting edge of contemporary creative industries.