SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS
AMAZING MACHINE
This visual resource is for children and young adults visiting the
Unicorn Theatre to see a performance of Septimus Bean and His
Amazing Machine.
This visual story is intended to help prepare you for a new
experience and help you to become familiar with the surroundings
and the performance.
Welcome to the Unicorn Theatre. We are a theatre for children and
adults. This is what the building looks like from the outside.
This is the main entrance of the theatre. There are some steps
before you get to the front door. The words and pictures on the
windows tell you what shows and activities are happening inside.
When you enter through the front door, you will see a big space with
lots of tables and chairs in an area called the Foyer.
There are also some instructions on the floor tiles, you can choose to
follow these instructions or you can ignore them.
The Box Office is also in the Foyer. This is where you can buy tickets
or collect tickets that you have already paid for. There may be other
adults and children waiting to buy or collect tickets when you arrive.
You will be met by one of the Ushers, who will be wearing a dark red
shirt with white writing like the one above.
You can ask an usher if you have any questions and they will do their
best to help you. When it’s time for Septimus Bean and His Amazing
Machine to start, you will hear a bell and an Usher will tell you
where you need to go.
You may see some adults and children sitting at some of the tables
having something to eat or drink from our Unicornershop.
There is a cafe in the Foyer called the Unicornershop where you can
buy drinks and snacks. You can also bring your own drinks and snacks
with you.
If you need to use the Toilet, they are downstairs from the Foyer.
Look for the stairs going down or you can use the Lift.
These are the boys’ toilets. These are the girls’ toilets.
As you walk into the Clore theatre you will see a large white floor,
lots of paintings hanging up and two big lights.
You can sit on any of the purple bench seats. You can sit near the
front or the back. It’s up to you. You will also hear music before the
show starts. It is classical music.
When the show begins there is a louder noise of a machine crash. It
might make you jump a bit but it’s just a noise. You will hear lots of
machine noises throughout the play. There will be whistles,
whirring, bumps and boings. They are sometimes quite loud but it’s
okay.
This is the actor who is playing Septimus Bean.
Septimus is friendly.
He is very tall and wears colourful clothes, big yellow wellies and a
white coat because he is an inventor.
He is a busy person and sometimes he is quite loud and makes big
movements. He gets excited and upset but he will be okay.
This is the actor who is playing King Albert III.
The King is friendly.
He likes to wear red and gold. He has a crown because he is the King.
He is quite bossy and sometimes tells Septimus what to do. He has a
deep voice and comes on and off the stage quite a lot.
This is the actor who is playing Queen Petronella.
The Queen is friendly.
She likes to wear green and gold. She has a crown because she is the
Queen. She is quite bossy and sometimes tells Septimus and the King
what to do. She has a deep voice and comes on and off the stage
quite a lot. The Queen falls over but she is okay.
Septimus will enter though a big black curtain and will make noises
because he is working hard to push an invisible machine. He is very
friendly. Can you imagine the machine he is pushing? Septimus will
make all the machine noises with his voice and body.
Septimus will talk to you about why he is here and what he is doing.
You can respond if you want to. Septimus will repeat his story every
time there is a new machine.
Septimus is funny. Do you like his wellies?
King enters through the same door you came through and clicks his
fingers to make the big lights brighter. He does this every time he
comes in. Septimus and the King talk about the invisible machine.
Queen enters through the same door and speaks to King and
Septimus. The Queen is confused because she can’t see the
machine. She isn’t using her imagination. Everyone leaves and the
lights get a bit darker. You will also hear the louder machine noises.
Septimus will return with a machine made of strange blue objects.
The machine will move and make noise.
Septimus gets excited and runs about the stage being silly.
The King and Queen return to look at the machine and Septimus
tries to show them what is does but he gets tangled up and breaks
some of the machine. Septimus falls about on the stage.
Everyone leaves and the stage is darker and louder again.
Septimus comes back with a very small machine. He will bring the
small machine into the area you are sat and show you the small
machine up close. It is a very small blue box. You can touch the box if
he asks you to. You don’t have to.
Septimus puts the little blue box on the floor and the King comes to
look at it. The King accidentally steps on the machine and Septimus
gets a bit upset but everything is okay.
Everyone leaves again and the stage gets a bit darker and louder.
Septimus comes back with a new machine on wheels. It’s bigger than
the other machines.
The Queen comes in instead of the King and she pretends to be the
King. Septimus and the Queen look at the machine and try to make it
work like a camera. Septimus makes machine noises again.
Septimus brings on another machine that looks a bit like a suitcase.
It has a pink balloon on the front.
This machine makes a very loud noise and blows up the balloon.
The machine makes a whirring noise for a long time.
Septimus, King and Queen try to talk about the machine when the
balloon is blowing up but you won’t be able to hear them.
The balloon will pop and make a loud bang sound.
You might want to cover your ears or eyes waiting for the balloon to
pop. That’s okay.
When the balloon pops Septimus, King and Queen leave the stage
and it gets darker again.
Septimus brings on another machine that looks like a shower.
Septimus will bring the machine off the stage towards the seats you
are sat in to show you the machine up close. He will pretend to
spray you with the hose. Don’t worry, he is only pretending.
Septimus will ask you to help him say a countdown. You can join in if
you want to.
Septimus will leave the stage again and it will get a bit darker and a
bit louder again.
Septimus brings on another machine that looks like a chair. He will
try to ride the chair in and falls about a bit.
When the King enters he sits in the chair to try the machine and the
hands on the machine try to cuddle him but they are too big.
The King gets a bit upset but he is okay.
Septimus takes the machine away.
When Septimus comes back this time there is louder and faster
music and his machine will look like a small blue scooter with pointy
objects on it. He will ride across the stage and past the audience.
It’s quite fast and quite loud but Septimus doesn’t stay too long.
The next machine is a music machine and Septimus tries to plug it in.
The music machine is quite loud and makes flashing lights on the
stage. The machine will makes Septimus sound funny and the King
and Queen talk too fast. Septimus gets a bit upset and the machine
makes everyone dance very fast. The stage will be very bright and
colourful.
Septimus unplugs the machine to stop the noise and dancing but the
machine starts again.
Septimus has to take the machine away to stop the King and Queen
dancing too much.
The stage is darker again and we hear machine noises.
The final machine will come in with a big cloud of smoke. The smoke
won’t make you cough. It’s special smoke.
The machine is very big and Septimus is driving it like a tractor.
It has wheels, gears, levers, flashing lights and bells. It makes lots of
interesting noises.
Septimus is tired because he has made lots of machines. He falls on
the floor a lot and the King tries to help him.
When the King tries to touch the machine the machine makes
noises. It might make you jump.
The King, the Queen and Septimus try to make the machine work.
They think it might be a vacuum cleaner and accidentally the
machine sticks to the Queens’s face and bottom. It’s very funny.
Then they think it might be a washing machine and Septimus tries to
wash his white coat. His coat turns pink and shrinks which makes him
a bit upset and he sits on the floor feeling sad. He is okay. The King
makes him happy again by telling Septimus to drive the machine.
Septimus gets on the machine and starts to drive it. The machine
makes lots of noise and lights and smoke. It looks like the machine is
out of control and the King and Queen get a bit upset. They will be
okay.
Septimus drives the machine back through the big black curtain and
the King and Queen open the painting frames to show you a
television screen. The screen will show a video of Septimus driving
the machine around the theatre building. The video is quite loud and
quite fast. It makes crashing images and sounds.
The machine crashes and Septimus falls through the door a bit
upset. He thinks his machine has failed but the King and Queen want
to see what has happened.
The King will invite you to go into the foyer to see what has
happened to the machine. He will ask you to follow him and take all
your coats and bags with you.
You will then queue to leave the Clore Theatre and look in the foyer.
You will see the machine has broken up into lots of machines that
you can look at and touch. They all do strange and wonderful things.
You can look at these and move around the foyer. There is even a
slide.
You will hear a loud trumpet noise in the foyer and the King will
speak to you from a small blue stage. He will talk to Septimus and
thank him for making Bean Park.
Septimus is now very happy that he has made a playground for you
to enjoy.
The actors will now leave the foyer and that is the end of the play.
You can clap and cheer if you want to.
Enjoy Bean Park!
The machines will be put away after about 20 minutes so we are
ready for the next show.
During the show you might find something funny, you can laugh if
you like.
During the show you might see or hear something that makes you
feel sad. You can feel sad if you like, that’s okay.
You might hear other people in the audience cheer, clap, shout out
or scream. You can join in if you like.
During the show you might feel that you need to take some time out.
If you do don’t worry about it, find an Usher and let them know.
They will take you to the chill out space where you can relax and
return to the show when you feel ready.