BabyGROOVE is part of the 2023 programme from The Network For Extraordinary Audiences and is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.

FAQs

CAN I HAVE TWO ADULT TICKETS WITH MY BABY? Because of space restrictions, we have to limit it to one adult per baby for everyone’s safety and comfort. However, you could bring your baby more than once with different adult guest accompanying them! We find babies really enjoy seeing it more than once. We are, of course, flexible so if there are special circumstances (eg a parent who needs support for whatever reason), we’re happy to look at making exceptions. This rule is primarily about comfort (but also about safety) – the tent can get very hot and the more people, the hotter it gets!

HOW LONG DOES babyGROOVE LAST? The official ‘show’ lasts 20 minutes and babies and their adults are welcome to stay for more informal free play after the show for up to another 20 minutes – some do and some don’t – it’s completely up to them!

DO I HAVE TO JOIN IN? Don’t worry, you won’t be asked to sing or clap along or even introduce yourself! – you can just relax and share the experience with your baby.

HOW DOES EVERYONE SIT? We sit in a circle inside our specially designed tent with the performers in amongst the babies and parents. Some babies sit in their parent’s arms, some in front of their parent, some lie down – whatever’s comfortable for them. Within safety limits, babies can move around during the show and if any baby needs a bit of time out, you’re welcome to head out of the tent and come back in when you’re both ready. If you need to feed your baby during the show, you’re very welcome to do that.

Should there be a parent/caregiver in a wheelchair who is unable to get into the tent or a parent/caregiver who is unable to sit on the floor, we can accommodate this easily.

IS MY BABY TOO YOUNG? Our youngest audience member was 4 days old! We find that even the tiniest of babies react – whether that’s tracking with their eyes, moving their hands or just relaxing more.

MY BABY IS JUST OVER THE AGE LIMIT – IS THAT OK? babyGROOVE is very specifically designed for babies under 12  months – we’ve toured these kind of shows for several years now and have found that babies over 12 months (even just 13 months) want to move around more than is possible in the tent. We’re also found that it’s very unusual for babies under 12 months to get scared going into the tent – but once babies are 12 months old, this happens fairly regularly. So we ask that people strictly follow the age-range – for the comfort and safety of the babies.

CAN I BRING ANOTHER SIBLING? For the same reasons listed above, we would heavily discourage bringing a sibling – as with the additional adult question, it also means there are too many people in the tent!