The Littlest Yak

The Littlest Yak plays Birmingham Rep on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 February 2027, in The Studio. It's a LAStheatre production, based on the children's book by Lu Fraser, illustrated by Kate Hindley and published by Simon & Schuster. The Birmingham dates are part of the company's UK tour.

The story follows Gertie, a yak who's great at being the littlest yak — she's got the curliest, whirliest wool and the grippiest of hooves — but she doesn't want to be the littlest. She's in a rush to grow up and be just like the Big Yaks, and the whole thing is a story about being perfect just the way you are. It's recommended for ages 3 and up, so it's one for the younger ones. On stage, it's brought to life with puppets and catchy tunes, and it's a musical adaptation of the book.

Behind it are writer and director Barra Collins, composer Joseph Hardy, and set, costume and puppet designer Alison Alexander. The show has a bit of a pedigree to it: it was nominated for four OffWestEnd Awards — Best Performance, Writing, Music and Design — and it's had support from Arts Council England, Marlowe Theatre, Backstage Trust, Kent County Council and Folkestone Town Council. During its development, LAStheatre ran 'Yakety Yak', a pen-pal project that paired children in Folkestone with Himalayan yaks, and they staged early versions in libraries across Hampshire before taking it on the road.

Tickets start from £18. If you're paying over £13, there's a £1 restoration levy added, though schools' tickets are excluded from that, and a £3.50 transaction fee applies to all payment types. It's two dates in The Studio at the Rep, so if you're taking the little ones, you've got a choice of the Wednesday or the Thursday.