Aardman In Concert

Aardman in Concert comes to York Barbican on Saturday 29 August 2026, a new show created in partnership with Aardman to mark the studio's 50th anniversary. It's a cinematic and musical celebration of five decades of British clay animation, with a live orchestra playing along to the screen.

The programme runs through the studio's most famous characters: Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Timmy Time, Morph and Creature Comforts. You'll see a full screening of The Wrong Trousers, and some sessions also include A Matter of Loaf and Death. It's a brand-new show for 2026, so it's not just a retrospective—it's a journey through fifty years of the studio's work, bringing together the characters and films that have come out of Bristol since they started.

On the music side, the Picture House Orchestra, run by Carrot Productions, provides the live accompaniment. They draw their musicians from some of the UK's top orchestras, including the Hallé, Manchester Camerata and the BBC Philharmonic, so the sound is coming from players who usually spend their time in the country's major concert halls. The show is widely recommended as a good way to introduce children to a live orchestra, as they get to hear the music playing along to characters they already know.

Beyond the main performance, there are optional model-making workshops available, so you can get a bit of hands-on clay work in as well. The show is at York Barbican on Paragon Street, YO10 4NT, on Saturday 29 August.