Jack and the Beanstalk (Sort Of...) / 1.30pm Performance (Children's Theatre)

Kid Carpet is back in Belfast on Saturday 24 October, with a brand new show at the Ulster Museum's Lecture Theatre. He's not coming alone, though — he's joined by the Noisy Animals, a gang that includes Bear, Gorilla, Badger and Hedgehog. Together they're putting on Jack and the Beanstalk (Sort Of...), and the title does a lot of the heavy lifting.

The setup is a bit of a joke in itself: Kid Carpet hates pants, and the Noisy Animals absolutely love it, so they've decided to stage a panto. From there it goes off the rails. They describe it as Jack and the Beanstalk as if thrown together in a blender with a drum machine and dodgy celebrity lookalikes — part air guitar workshop, part magical mess. It's a lo-fi, hi-tech, big-beat production stuffed with songs, silliness and surprise grannies, and it's recommended for ages 3 to 10.

If that sounds like a lot to take in, it's because it is. The whole thing is built around the kind of chaotic energy that works when you've got a room full of kids who'd rather be making noise than sitting still. Between the air guitar and the drum machine, it's as much about the sound as it is the story, and the Noisy Animals — Bear, Gorilla, Badger and Hedgehog — are right in the thick of it.

The performance starts at 1.30pm and runs for an hour, so you'll be out by 2.30pm. Tickets start from £7.70, and there are concessions for under-18s, over-65s and students. A child under 2 doesn't need a ticket if they don't need their own seat, but everyone else has to book. Just a heads-up: tickets are non-exchangeable and non-refundable unless the show is cancelled, rescheduled or issued in error.