The Hunt for Blackbeard’s Treasure: A Pirate Adventure for Brisbane Families These School Holidays
If you are looking for something a little more adventurous to do with the kids these September school holidays, there are pirates on the horizon.
The Hunt for Blackbeard’s Treasure sails into PIP Theatre in Milton from 23 September to 3 October 2026, bringing an original pirate adventure to the stage for Brisbane families.
Presented by Small Crown Productions and PIP Theatre, and written and directed by Paul Adams, the new 60 minute production has been created especially for children aged around 8 to 12, while still being designed as an entertaining family theatre experience for parents, siblings and younger children.
Performances are at 11am and 1.30pm, Wednesday to Saturday, with tickets priced at $25 or $20 for groups of 4 or more.
Children’s theatre for kids who are ready for a bigger adventure
There is a point where kids start to grow out of entertainment created for very young children, but they are nowhere near ready to leave imagination behind.
We think of them as cognitively capable but magically minded.
They can follow a real story. They understand danger, humour, consequences and relationships. They want characters they can invest in and adventures with genuine stakes.
But they also still want pirates.
They want treasure maps, sword fights, hidden clues, secret caves and the possibility that somewhere out there a legendary fortune might still be waiting to be discovered.
That is the audience at the heart of The Hunt for Blackbeard’s Treasure.
Rather than simplifying the story because it is children’s theatre, the aim has been to create an adventure that gives older primary school aged kids something substantial to get caught up in.
An epic pirate adventure on the Brisbane stage
At the centre of the story is a kidnapping and a ransom demand with an almost impossible price: Blackbeard’s lost treasure.
What follows sends our heroes on a dangerous journey in search of the legendary pirate’s fortune, following clues left behind by Blackbeard and racing against people who would very much like to find the treasure first.
Along the way there are rival pirates, live sword fights, puzzles, danger and plenty of opportunities for plans to go spectacularly wrong.
The production combines live performance with theatrical video projection to help take audiences beyond the walls of the theatre and into a much larger pirate world.
We will leave the rest for you to discover.
After all, a treasure hunt is not much fun if somebody tells you where everything is hidden.
A school holiday activity the whole family can enjoy
Finding school holiday activities in Brisbane can sometimes become a balancing act.
You want something the kids are genuinely excited about, but you also want an experience the adults can enjoy with them.
You want to get out of the house and do something memorable without turning one family outing into a major financial investment.
And if you have older primary school children, you want something that does not immediately feel as though it has been designed for kids several years younger than them.
That is what we want this production to offer.
At $20 -$25 per ticket, The Hunt for Blackbeard’s Treasure is designed as an accessible live theatre outing that can become part of a full school holiday day in Brisbane.
The show runs for approximately 60 minutes, giving families enough time for a substantial adventure without asking younger audience members to sit through a lengthy performance.
There will also be pirate themed craft activities around the performances, giving younger children something extra to enjoy before or after the show.
For us, the goal is simple: you come to the theatre together, have a great time together and leave talking about the adventure you have just experienced.
The third adventure in our 2026 children’s theatre season
The Hunt for Blackbeard’s Treasure is the third production in the 2026 children’s season presented by Small Crown Productions and PIP Theatre.
Earlier this year Brisbane families joined us for Detective Grimm, followed during the July school holidays by Peter Pan the Musical.
For the September school holidays, we wanted to create something different again.
This time, we are heading out to sea.
The Hunt for Blackbeard’s Treasure is an original Australian work created specifically with young audiences in mind and continues our focus on making theatre that treats children as an audience worth writing properly for.
Children do not need stories to be less interesting.
They need stories that meet them where they are.
Stories that recognise that they are cognitively capable but magically minded.
Looking for things to do with kids in Brisbane these September school holidays?
If your child loves pirates, adventure stories, treasure hunts, sword fights or simply the excitement of seeing a story unfold live in front of them, we would love to welcome you aboard.
The Hunt for Blackbeard’s Treasure
PIP Theatre, Milton, Brisbane
23 September to 3 October 2026
Wednesday to Saturday
11am and 1.30pm performances
Approximately 60 minutes
Recommended for ages 8 to 12 and their families
Tickets: $25
Book tickets: https://piptheatre.org/the-hunt-for-blackbeards-treasure/
The treasure is out there.
The hunt is about to begin.
