The Velveteen Rabbit
Visual story
This visual resource is for children and young adults visiting the
theatre for the Relaxed Performance of The Velveteen Rabbit.
It is intended to help prepare you for a new experience and to 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.
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 The Velveteen Rabbit to start,
you will hear a bell and an Usher will show you where to go.
You may see some adults and children sitting at the tables having a
drink or something to eat.
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.
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.
If you need to use the toilet, they are downstairs from the foyer.
Look for the stairs going down.
These are the boys’ toilets.
These are the girls’ toilets.
10 minutes’ before the show is about to start you will hear someone
ring a bell and one of the ushers will say ‘Ladies and Gentleman the
house is now open’. This means you can go into the theatre and sit
down if you like.
To get there, look for this staircase in the foyer. Walk up this
staircase to the third floor. You can also take the lift up to Level 3.
The lift is next to the Unicornershop.
This is a picture of the inside the theatre. These are the seats for the
audience to sit in. The theatre is a large room which will be full of
other people.
You will sit down on a purple seat. When the show is about to start,
the lights will go out and it will be dark. Everyone will try to sit down
and be quiet. Some people will make noise but this is nothing to
worry about.
At the start of the show there is a big white sock on the stage and a
piano. The set has a large white floor with several little holes in it
with doors. The actors open the little doors to put objects into the
holes and sometimes go into the holes themselves.
These are the three main characters in the play, the boy (he’s the
man in the hat) and the rabbit (he’s the man in all brown).
The third character is the narrator. He talks to you and tells you the
story. He also acts as the nanny and the doctor.
There is also a pianist who you will see on stage at the beginning and
then sat at the piano.
The boy and the rabbit go on many adventures together and at one
point, some snow starts to full from the sky as if by magic!
There are some funny parts in the play. At one point the rabbit
pretends to get hit in the eye with an arrow but he recovers from
this very quickly.
Sometimes the stage will be full of toys or a bed and sometimes it
will be completely empty. Characters might disappear down the
doors in the floor too but they will reappear again.
In one scene there is a storm and there is some loud music, this
scene lasts approximately 5 minutes.
Close to the end the lights go down and the Rabbit is put onto a
bonfire, this might make you feel sad. This bonfire will not be lit, you
will hear a voiceover from a Fairy and the Rabbit then flies from the
bonfire onto the floor, you’ll be able to see his harness which is what
makes him able to fly.
During the show you might hear the actors make a joke or do
something that is 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 this is the case, then you can 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.
The relaxed area will be in the John Lyons Room (JLR) on level 2. This
area will be open from 12 – 4. You can access the JLR at any point
during this time. The room will be quiet and has some materials for
drawing. There are also toilets available on this level.
At the end of the show everyone will clap their hands, which shows
the actors that they have enjoyed the show. If the clapping is too
loud you can cover your ears.
You will leave the theatre through one of the exit doors. An usher
can show you the way.
We hope you enjoy your visit to the Unicorn Theatre. If you want to
tell us about it you can email us at [email protected]