Children's Theatre

Children & The Theatre
Theatre is so valuable and it is important that children are able to watch it and be involved with it. Through the use of theatre, children can be taught to empathise, be more creative and learn to have a wilder imagination. These are all incredibly important things that you need to be able to do as it means you can see the world in a different and more exciting way. Watching theatre performances can also teach children about humanity and how the world works and evolves. Being involved in theatre can help children to gain the skills and creativity to face the world and understand it. Children are our future and can change the world! For theatre to live on, children need to carry on studying and enjoying the theatrical world and pass it on through the generations. Performing shows aimed at their age range will encourage them to do this!

Polka Theatre
Located in the centre of Wimbledon, The Polka Theatre has been putting on exciting and interesting performances for children since 1979. Children between the ages 0 to 14 can go and enjoy a show at The Polka Theatre. Every show is supported by a learning programme and the theatre is dedicated to introducing children to the world of theatre.
I remember going to watch an adaptation of Roald Dahl's book 'The BFG' when I was in primary school. It was very exciting as it was one of the first shows that I got to watch as a child. I really enjoyed the show and started going to the theatre more frequently.
'Puss In Boots' is currently showing at the Polka Theatre. Some of the shows coming soon are 'Gorilla', 'Thumbelina' and 'Beauty And The Beast'.

Unicorn Theatre
Since being founded in 1947 as a touring company, The Unicorn Theatre has since been situated in the centre of London. It is known as the UK's leading professional theatre for young audiences and is constantly producing shows for audiences aged 2 to 21.
Recently I watched a production called 'Girls Like That' and was really impressed with it! It was very different to any show I had seen before and suited the audience as it was very modern and interesting. Some shows that are coming to The Unicorn Theatre soon are 'Breaking The Ice', 'Grass' and 'Minotaur'.

Companies such as The Polka Theatre and The Unicorn Theatre can help us with the work we are devising as we can look at previous shows that they have put on and take inspiration from them. By finding out what children enjoyed when watching theatre shows at The Polka and The Unicorn, we can interpret the same sort of style into our piece to make it enjoyable for the children. By looking at other theatre companies, we can find out ways to make the performance more exciting and captivating for our audience.