PLAY, watch, game, make... a new festival of interactive creativity for big and small screens.
New for summer 2026, PLAY is Sheffield's festival of interactive creativity for families – featuring films, gaming, and hands-on workshops for children and young audiences on big and small screens.
Join in 12 days of screenings, gaming events and workshops at Showroom Cinema during the Sheffield summer holidays. PLAY brings an exciting programme of family films and interactive experiences that put creativity and imagination centre stage.
Perfect for families with children of all ages looking for things to do in Sheffield this summer.
PLAY programme highlights:
- The Adventures of Prince Achmed [100th Anniversary] + Live Score (2 Aug) – a special screening of Lotte Reiniger's beautiful hand-crafted 1926 animation. When the world's most powerful sorcerer challenges brave young Prince Achmed to fly a magic horse, he plunges headlong into escapades that take him from Baghdad to China via the enchanted spirit lands of Wak-Wak. One of the most influential animations ever made, screened with a live soundtrack performed by Northern Silents.
- Model Making with Aardman (5 Aug, ages 7+) – get creative with clay and make your very own model of Gromit, from Wallace and Gromit, to take home. The workshops are facilitated by Aardman’s expert model makers (who have worked on titles such as Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep and Morph).
- Dreaming Methods VR Sessions (6–8 Aug) – a celebration of the work of Dreaming Methods, the award-winning Yorkshire-based immersive arts studio creating original narrative-led work across games, virtual reality, mixed reality and interactive media.
- Felt Moomin Workshop (8 Aug) – join artist Mia Eccleston to bring Moomin Valley to life with felt character puppets and decorations, and make your very own stop- motion Moomin film.
- The Puppet Folk Experience (9 Aug) – join the 'most sensational' Muppet tribute show, bringing acoustic mayhem, heart and humour to audiences across the UK, performing as part of a Muppet All-Dayer celebrating Jim Henson’s fabulous creations.
- Site Gallery’s When The Sky Gets Bright exhibition by artist collective Babeworld, exploring loneliness, isolation and the complex relationship between online and physical worlds.
- WiFi Wars (29 Jul) – the award-winning live comedy game show hosted by Steve McNeil.
- Extra Lives (31 Jul) – a live-scored audience RPG where the crowd votes to shape the game.
- Concerteenies: The Duck with No Luck (3 Aug) – the much-loved children's book brought to life with animation and live music.
Event description by organisers.
- Featured in
- Film picks
- Sheffield Festivals Guide
