
Welcome Abroad Me Hearties!
Ahh-harrrgh! You’ve found your way onto the Jolly Sprout, where mischief is around every corner and laughs are guaranteed. Our pirates are ready for adventure, are you? Hold fast, me crew, hoist the sails and let the Christmas magic set sail.
From all of us at Babbling Vagabonds Storytelling Theatre, thank you for joining us on our exciting journey!
Thank you for sailing with us today. We hope Captain Sprout made you smile, feel brave, and believe in a bit of Christmas magic.
Fair winds and festive cheer, here’s to our next adventure!

Babbling Vagabonds
We are Phil, Mark, and Tara and we run our small theatre company with a big heart from the lovely old town of Buxton. We have been making original theatre in Derbyshire since we started in the year 2000, and a jolly old time we have had of it we can tell you.
We love to tell stories, listen to stories, make up stories, discover stories, and eat biscuits.
We love creating shows in theatres and other ‘interesting’ places so if you like our work then you might want to come and find us as we are always up to ‘shenanigans’.

Our process – How the magic happens
Every adventure needs a crew, and ours is small but mighty! Captain Sprout was first created in 2016 for DerbyLIVE, with a script and story we dreamed up ourselves. Since then, we’ve been waiting for the opportunity to bring that rotten rogue Captain Sprout to life again.
For this run at The Brewhouse Arts Centre, we’ve redesigned the set, edited the script and everything you see is made by our small team. We love this story! The laughs, the heartfelt moments, the sprouts! Making theatre is a journey, and we’re thrilled to share this one with you.
Meet the Crew

Who’s Who on Deck:
Phil Coggins playing First Mate & Captain Sprout
Phil is a founding member of Babbling Vagabonds and has performed in or directed all of our productions to date. He is a big fan of Christmas and believes it should be celebrated at least once a year. If Phil could be a pirate, he’d be one who was in charge of paperwork on land, as he has useless sea legs!
Tara Hornsey-Saunders playing Captain & Glynnis
Tara has been Babbling since helping found the company in the early days. She loves making the set, costume and props, but we are delighted that she is back on stage again. She loves making an audience smile and bringing puppets to life.If Tara was a pirate she’d be a dapper Captain calling the shots, burying her treasure on exotic islands, and making the others walk the plank!
Oliver Moody playing Newbie & Freddy
Oliver has been performing through Babbling Vagabonds Theatre Gym (the one for adults) for some years now. Recently he has been supporting Phil with the older members of REC (our Youth Theatre). If Oliver was a pirate, he would be the one complaining about the splinters in the deck and the shape of the cannon balls.
Mark Hornsey – Theatre maker and sea dog
Ahoy there! Mark is also a founder member of the Babbling Vagabonds and has made things, performed and had a lot of fun for the last 25 years. He has worked on all the Babblers shows to date. If Mark was a pirate, he’d be one who had a pet parrot, which he would teach to say rude words all the time!

Speak Like A Pirate
Ahh-harrrgh! – A hearty pirate shout/ yes please/ generally a positive response.
Landlubber – Someone who hasn’t quite mastered the sea.
Hoist the sails! – Let’s get going!
Shiver me timbers! – Expressions of surprise.
Treasure – Anything worth stealing/ laughing about.

A thought to take home
In our story, Freddy learns that being brave doesn’t mean being the strongest. Real courage is about being kind, helping others, and doing the right thing, even when it feels hard.

Stay in Touch
If you loved this tale, join our crew online!
- Website babblingvagabonds.co.uk
- Facebook @BabblingVagabonds
- Instagram @BabblingVagabonds
Sign up for updates, future shows, workshops, and more merry mischief.
