Get out and about in Banbury and beyond with our 5 of the best

Alice in Wonderland, The Mill, Banbury, June 23

London-based dance company Let’s All Dance brings its new show to the Mill. The innovative company creates and tours four professional shows per year, especially designed for young audiences, and has become known for adapting children’s classics with crystal-clear story telling, gorgeous costumes and stunning dancing.

Founder and artistic director Orit Sutton said: “Access to professional live theatre can be truly transformative for a child and should be open to everyone. Just because our productions are for children doesn’t mean we dumb anything down. All our artists are highly trained professionals and we all care deeply about the integrity and standard of our work.”

Alice in Wonderland runs for 40 minutes and is followed by a photo opportunity for children with the dancers on stage.

Details: themillartscentre.co.uk

2 FAMILY THEATRE

Me and My Bee, The Theatre, Chipping Norton, June 23

Multi award-winning company This Egg present Me and My Bee, a charming new comedy suitable for children and adults alike.

It’s time to plant the seed of change and join the Bee Party, before it’s too late. After all, our fuzzy little friends need our help.

Details: chippingnortontheatre.com

3 THEATRE

We Are Ian, The Mill, Banbury, June 22

After receiving rave reviews at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, We Are Ian has just returned from an award-winning Australian tour. It recalls the year 1989 in Manchester, amid a frenzy of drugs, beats and bucket hats – a time Ian remembers. Represented on stage by a single light bulb, Ian tells anecdotes from the glory days of his youth, as his young friends naively and hysterically attempt to recreate the party: a messy, multimedia mish-mash of clowning, dance routines and lip-syncing. Audiences are promised a technicolour trip through the highs and lows of Britain’s last proper youth movement. The show is presented by theatre group In Bed With My Brother, comprising Dora Lynn, Nora Alexander and Kat Cory, who use real-life stories as inspiration for their work.

Details: themillartscentre.co.uk

4 FAMILY

Avon Dassett Soapbox Derby, June 23

The annual family favourite returns this weekend. The races take place on a challenging course on a steep and winding downhill route. This year’s event will raise money for Zoe’s Place Baby Place Hospice and Southam Squadron ATC Air Force Cadets. The community owned Yew Tree pub will be open all day with a barbecue, ice cream stall and bouncy castle with live music following the races.

Details: www.avondassett.com

5 FAMILY

Circa Tsuica: Now or Never, Oxpens Meadow, Oxford, June 28 to 30

Expect an exhilarating fusion of stunning acrobatics and funky brass rhythms, where acrobats, musicians and audiences all play their part. As the party begins, the performers mingle with the crowd, making and sharing Breton crêpes, before they launch into a feast of music and circus.

The acrobat-musicians fly, fling and swing across the tent on trapezes, tightropes, trick bicycles, trampolines and seesaws. All the while, they play their thundering brass rhythms accompanied by Oxfordshire Dixieland Jazz Band.

Details: oxfordplayhouse.com