Make A Homemade Theatre

Our homemade theatre presents...The Nutcracker

I would like to say that this simple yet fun craft idea was mine but it was actually all my mums work. She created it when my daughter was at a sleepover at her house so I will give her full artistic credit!

My daughter loves the ballet. She has been to see The Nutcracker and Swan Lake and was totally entranced by them, so the idea of making her own theatre and scenery really captured her imagination and she decided that she wanted to put on a production of The Nutcracker in her cardboard box theatre.

All you need to create your theatre is a large cardboard box, some paints or crayons and some sellotape and you are ready to go.


Take your cardboard box and cut off two adjoining sides so that you create a "stage" - you might need to just strengthen the joins with some sellotape. You can then paint the inside of the box. Whilst you are letting it dry its time to make the backdrops.

The basic theatre shape

Use the card from the sides of the box that you cut out to make the backdrops which can be slotted in to your theatre. This can be as simple as just drawing the pictures on, to using cut outs from magazines and adding glitter, stars or tinsel - the possibilities are endless. You can also experiment with making some props and scenery with playdough, modelling clay or pipe cleaners.

Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Land of Sweets

Once your theatre and scenery is made its on with the show - we used Happyland characters in our production of the Nutcracker but you could really use any toys. My daughter loved making this and it is so simple and cheap to make - thanks Mum!