Imagine Children's Festival/The Southbank Centre

A welcome half term distraction for middle class parents who can't afford a skiing holiday, the Imagine Festival at the Southbank Centre bursts with children's activities from music, storytelling and magic, much of it free of charge. We caught the Beatbox Concerto for Kids that featured 'beatboxer extraordinaire' Shlomo. Wondering on to the QEH stage with all the poise of a filleted fish, he gave the audience a brief masterclass in the fine art of beatboxing - those percussive noises you make with a microphone - which comes down to the following sounds: Boo, Tee, Kat and Puff. Take away the vowels and voila , you have the basics of beatboxing. It's pretty impressive stuff too. A pity then that Shlomo's collaboration with an orchestra didn't quite come off. Anna Meredith's score was fine but a tad fussy for the occasion, never quite finding the right, well groove I suppose, for Shlomo and his talented team of beatboxers to really come alive. Mind you, most of the young audience loved it.