How a Jellyfish Saved the World

Join Clyde the jellyfish as he rides the waves of friendship, heartbreak and hope after mistakenly falling in love with a plastic bag named Bubbles, and having to come to terms with the fact they belong in different worlds.

With appearances from colourful creatures, magical environments, and human innovation, through sustainably-sourced puppets, BSL, and an epically catchy musical score, Clyde represents the very real and relevant issue of plastic pollution in our oceans, hoping to raise a sense of optimistic awareness by keeping hearts full and tentacles tapping long after the show has finished.

Music by Callum Read

Written by Tessa Chalmers

Directed by Emily Susanne Lloyd

UK Tour Trailer (footage from R&D)

During 2024, Clyde the jellyfish made 600 new friends at Edinburgh Fringe and over 1000 on tour all around the UK! Thank you to all those who either participated in our workshops or attended the show.

โ€˜Gimme tenโ€ฆtickles!โ€™

  • โ€œReally got the message across while keeping the children interested.โ€

    Teacher from a local school

  • โ€œEducational, emotional, fun and magical. A great way to introduce issues around recycling and pollution to kids.โ€

    Parent

  • โ€œWe want more Clyde and Bubbles!โ€

    Audience Member

  • โ€œMost impressed how it conveyed the message very clearly to my 2 granddaughters aged 6 and 9.โ€

    Grandparent

  • "The year 3 & 4's had wonderful sessions with Jam Jar Theatre Company exploring their puppetry and acting skills"

    Pakefield Primary

  • "We were very privileged to support the development of โ€œHow a Jellyfish Saved the Worldโ€ and were thrilled to see such a professional and impactful production emerge from the R&D period."

    Seagull Theatre

R&D November 2023

In November 2023 we completed a R&D thanks to generous support from The Seagull Theatre & CEFAS, and supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

Sizzle Reel 2023 & 15 min excerpt

TOUR 2024

After a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2024 in association with Pleasance, Clyde and the team embarked on a tour of 11 venues across the UK. He swam from coast-to-coast (while the rest of the team drove the van) from Liverpool, to Falmouth, to Great Yarmouth, with multiple sell-out performances to fabulous young audiences (and parents and grandparents too!). They also connected with schools in Lowestoft, Manchester, London, and Falmouth, delivering workshops alongside the production, inspired in return by the overwhelmingly optimistic, innovative and informed responses to the issue of plastic pollution.

We are very excited to announce that the show has been invited to Poland in May 2025 to support educational initiatives, focusing on teaching English and exploring local marine life.

Better start swimming, Clyde!

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Production photography by Andy Chalmers

@andygcphoto

Check out our o-fish-ial Instagram for more behind the sea-ns fun!

(and plenty more punsโ€ฆ)

Did you know? ๐Ÿ” There are 18 different species of penguins across the world ๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ Our wonderful audiences helped Noah to colour in his picture for David Attenborough, and proved that no two penguins are the same!
“Antarctica is the driest desert in the world!” How do penguins make decisions? … They flipper coin! ๐Ÿง๐Ÿช™โš–๏ธ @andygcphoto ๐Ÿ“ธ
“The ice he was standing on, was now only as big as a surfboard!” Why do penguins wear glasses? … To help their ice-sight! ๐Ÿง๐Ÿ‘“ @andygcphoto ๐Ÿ“ธ
“Would you like a snack, Penguin?” What do penguin waiters say to their customers? … Waddle it be? ๐Ÿง๐Ÿคต‍โ™‚๏ธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿฝ๏ธ @andygcphoto ๐Ÿ“ธ
More flurries of penguin post! โœ‰๏ธโ„๏ธ
“Huddled together on the ice!” What is a penguins favourite relative? … Aunt Arctica! ๐Ÿง๐Ÿ—ป๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ๐ŸŒŒ @andygcphoto ๐Ÿ“ธ
“No peeking!” What kind of shoes do penguins wear? … Flipper-flops! ๐Ÿง๐Ÿฉด๐Ÿซฃ @andygcphoto ๐Ÿ“ธ
“I have a book all about them!” How do you get in touch with a penguin? … Give them a wing! ๐Ÿงโ˜Ž๏ธ @andygcphoto ๐Ÿ“ธ
“I found you!” How does a penguin build his house? … Igloos it together! ๐Ÿง๐ŸงŠโš’๏ธ๐Ÿ‘ท๐Ÿ‘ท‍โ™€๏ธ @andygcphoto ๐Ÿ“ธ
Extra-special first-class penguin delivery! ๐Ÿ“ฎ We’ve had the loveliest messages coming into our penguin postbox, addressed to Sir David Attenborough, Noah, Izzy and Penguin himself! ๐Ÿฅน We’ll be sure to pass them all on!
Penguins - rehear-seals! ๐Ÿฆญ A week full of creativity, laughter and igloo-wrangling, building the show one block at a time ๐ŸงŠ Captured here just pract-ice-ing our lines… โ„๏ธ Beautifully directed by @sophie_e_f_mcmahon ๐Ÿ–๏ธ Written by @tess
What’s all the comm-ocean about over on @jellyfishmusical ? Ohh! Tickets are now on sale for How a Jellyfish Saved the World at Edinburgh Festival Fringe! ๐Ÿชผ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ Grab yours early and make everyone jelly-ous! Tickets - link in bio ?
Cloudy with a chance of meatballs? Sunny with a chance of jelly, more like! That’s the forecast for Edinburgh this summer โ˜€๏ธโš–๏ธ๐Ÿชผ Soon we’ll be waving Clyde off on his long 500-mile swim from Lowestoft to Edinburgh, but for our friends, we
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Penguins