Virginias Diary
Our artistic director & CEO Virginia Radcliffe founded Licketyspit in 2004, following her success as the director of Scotland’s first early years theatre residency, at Wee Stories.
In 2008 she developed her immersive theatre piece LicketyLeap, through play and consultation with early years children. This led to the Storyplay Approach, which is the cornerstone of all of Licketyspit’s work.
Virginia is a passionate advocate for the transformative power of theatre and performance to open up imaginary playworlds for children, families and early years professionals.
In these blogs you can read about some of the work Virginia does with Licketyspit outside of project delivery. This includes advocacy, child consultation, training, digital inclusion and much more. The blogs also include reflections on the journey of Licketyspit and the importance of play and children’s rights.
Play In A Time Of Crisis Webinar
At the start of February 2021, we were thrilled to be invited to present our work at the International Play Association’s Play in a Time of Crisis Award webinar series, which showcased projects all over the world that have supported children’s right to play during the pandemic. What we shared During the webinar, we spoke about the generosity, joy and limitless creativity we witnessed during Big Porridge & Play Online 2020. As our actor-pedagogues guided families through our Lickety Playcard games, amazing group story improvisation, dressing [...]
Storyplay City Launch
Licketyspit wants to spark a children’s rights-based play revolution! The Glasgow Community and National Lottery Community Funds have let us make a start. This is just the beginning! Everyone can join. There is a big imaginary play train going round Glasgow and everyone can jump on board! What is Storyplay City? Everyone, of all ages, loves to play! We need to play! Play is at the essence of being human. When we play imaginatively with other people there are no limits and [...]
Glasgow, one year on: a Storyplay explosion!
It’s been a year since we moved the Licketyspit office to Glasgow - and what a year it’s been. None of us could have predicted the tumultuous events that would affect everything and everyone; for the past six months, like all other arts organisations, the activities and goals we set out have been forced to shift and morph to fit our new reality. So, we were delighted when one of the parents in our Children & Families Network happily remarked that she’d noticed “an explosion” in Licketyspit activity [...]
UNCRC Incorporation Scotland Bill
Wednesday 9th September, 2020 Incorporating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scottish law is a big step towards ensuring every child in Scotland grows up happy, healthy and safe. This “rights revolution” means our government is committed to building a society where children are seen, heard, included and valued as equal human beings with their own views, thoughts, feelings and ideas. It means children’s experiences and perspectives must be considered equally alongside those of adults, not as secondary or irrelevant. These are big [...]
Ensuring access to digital tablets for families in need
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown, Licketyspit worked quickly to respond to the needs of families in our Children & Families Network and provide creative, joyful activities that would help families feel less isolated, inspire children to play and imagine at home, and connect people up with financial and food support during this difficult time. This included making videos for children explaining coronavirus and the lockdown, and demonstrating our Playcard games and songs, for families to play along to. We also adapted our intergenerational [...]
IPAY Talk in Philadelphia
Licketyspit goes to Philadelphia! On 15th January 2019, Virginia was part of a Scottish Children’s Theatre delegation to the IPAY International Showcase. International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY) brings together specialist children’s theatre companies and venues from around the world. Licketyspit was supported by Imaginate and Creative Scotland to participate in the conference and explore possibilities for touring our shows in America. Our featured show was Hare & Tortoise, Virginia Radcliffe and Deborah Arnott’s fantastic adaptation of Aesop’s fable. Featuring the Bun Brothers, Mrs Doodah and the Spooky Wood! With [...]
