One of the major centres of theatre in the world, London offers a remarkable range of superb, high-quality drama. Across the different categories of theatre – subsidized, West End and fringe – there is always a choice of plays to entertain and engage children of all ages, as well as their parents. Alongside new productions, there are also plenty of old favourites to choose from.
Best theatres
Half moon young people’s theatre
Founded in the 1980s in East London, Half Moon produces theatre for and with young people. The company uses drama to teach, inspire and engage children from all backgrounds and with all abilities. Plays are often by promising new playwrights. The London season runs from October to April.
Little angel theatre
This 100-seat puppet theatre, in a former Temperance Hall in Islington, puts on plays and runs workshops, during which a production is developed and the puppets are made. The Little Angel Theatre tours world-wide and showcases performances by visiting companies. Various cultures inspire productions, which include firm favourites The Secret Garden and The Sleeping Beauty. The theatre also runs creative family Fun Days to coincide with shows.
Lyric theatre Hammersmith
It is not specifically a children’s theatre, but the Lyric often puts on wonderful shows for children in its two superb performance spaces. The theatre also offers a lively pantomime at Christmas, as well as imaginative hands-on activities, usually geared to under-7s, such as “Messy Play” workshops.
Lyric Theatre Hammersmith
Lyric Square, King Street,
W6 0QL;
02087416843;
www.lyric.co.uk
National theatre
Each year, London’s main publicly funded theatre stages a number of productions for children, mostly during the holidays. It has three auditoriums, ranging from the grand Olivier to the tiny Cottesloe (renamed the Dorfman in 2013). The summer Watch this Space Festival, which celebrates outdoor theatre, offers children’s performance classes.
Polka theatre
More than 100,000 children visit this Wimbledon theatre every year. Its aim is to entertain, inspire and stimulate, both with brand-new plays and adaptations of much-loved classics. The plays, shown in two auditoriums, are chosen not only to spark kids’ imaginations, but to be accessible and relevant. Its Early Years programme embraces simple, visual stories for children between ages 6 months and 6 years.
Actors performing in All Join in and Other Stories at Wimbledon’s renowned Polka Theatre
Puppet barge
A unique concept, this floating puppet theatre makes a terrific family outing. The 55-seat barge has a regular mooring in Little Venice from April–July, but tours each summer, with a mooring in Richmond August–September. The company, Movingstage, is known for its inventive productions and traditional stories with a modern twist.
Unicorn theatre
From a mobile theatre operating out of an old truck, the Unicorn has grown into one of the UK’s flagship children’s companies, with an airy, purpose-built South Bank building. Here, it stages more than 600 performances a year. Family workshops complement the shows by exploring their various themes.
Best family shows
The Lion King
Since 1999, this joyful screen-to-stage musical has been delighting audiences at the Lyceum Theatre with its magical evocation of the Serengeti Plain, re-created through movement and puppetry. Visually, it is spectacular: the stage is packed with dancers sporting fabulous costumes and masks, and there is rousing African-inspired music.
Actors and puppets take to the stage in a vibrant performance of The Lion King
Stomp
With no speech, dialogue or plot it may seem like an odd choice, but Stomp will enthrall kids with the creativity, movement and music achieved from everyday objects. The dancers and musicians use bins, plastic bags and even Zippo lighters to create a rhythmically enchanting spectacle.
Wicked
The stage prequel to The Wizard of Oz, Wicked delves into the past of two Oz witches reinvented as university students – the good Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba. It premiered in London at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in 2006, and has been showing there ever since. It can be appreciated on different levels by adults and children alike.
Tickets
London’s West End Theatreland is the place for blockbusting shows. Visit
www.thisistheatre.com for the latest listings. Calls to a theatre box office will usually be redirected to ticketing giant Ticketmaster, which has an online family section (
www.ticketmaster.co.uk). For discounted seats, visit Tkts (Leicester Square; open 10am–7pm Mon–Fri, 11am–4pm Sun); the website lists bargains (
www.tkts.co.uk), but does not sell tickets. Prime time for theatre-loving families is
Kids Week, a fortnight of shows and workshops in August. Watch out for the Child’s Play sessions at
Shakespeare’s Globe, timed so that kids act up while their parents take in a play. The
Theatre Royal Drury Lane has London’s child-friendliest backstage tour (book the costumed version) and those at the
National Theatre and
Regent’s Park Open-Air Theatre are fun, too.
