Anansi the Spider

The Unicorn Theatre and Birmingham Rep present Anansi the Spider from Friday 3 October – Sunday 16 November 2025.

The production will star Cynthia Emeagi (The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s Globe; Fool Me Once, Netflix), Elizabeth Peace (Much Ado About Nothing, UK Tour; The Devil in Me, Supermassive Games), and Becky Sanneh (House of Cleopatra, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024; Thursford Christmas Spectacular) as narrators who bring Anansi’s world to life.

Written by Chichester Festival Theatre Artistic Director Justin Audibert (Marvin’s Binoculars and Story Seekers, Unicorn Theatre; Macbeth and The Winter’s Tale for young audiences, National Theatre) and directed by Unicorn Associate Director Robin Belfield (Twelfth Night, Princess Essex, Shakespeare’s Globe; The Merchant of Venice, Sapho and Phao, RSC; Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Adventures of Pinocchio, Watermill Theatre). 

People say that in a time long, long ago, animals walked on two feet and spoke with words, like we do. And back then, everyone knew that the cleverest of all the animals in the kingdom was a spider – the infamous Anansi – the original trickster and the master spinner of yarns.

But sometimes Anansi could be a little too clever for his own good…

Following a sold-out run in 2023, these classic West African and Caribbean folk tales about the mischievous spider who triumphs over larger foes are brought vividly to life by Unicorn Associate Director Robin Belfield.

For ages 4 - 8 years

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