Children's shows to look out for in the region this festive season

So important are those early encounters with the artform in building theatre audiences of the future, the shows made for children in the region are worthy of their own article.

At Leeds Playhouse the theatre is pulling out a lot of stops to bring the spectacular Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Musical to the stage in its main house, but next door in the Courtyard children will be thrilled by a stage adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s Stick Man.

The author and creator of The Gruffalo will be achingly familiar to parents of young children. Her Stick Man book, created with regular collaborator illustrator Axel Scheffler, has been translated into 23 languages. The Playhouse has gone for as sure a bet as it can with this adaptation - the story was made for screen in 2015, the animation becoming the fourth most-viewed Christmas Day TV programme in the UK that year.

The story, which is surely incidental to the magic of actually seeing the Stick Man on stage for youngsters familiar with the book, follows the eponymous hero as he sets out on a morning jog discovering that such things are not straight forward when you’re a stick. With a dog wanting to play fetch, to a swan building a nest to an actual log fire, the perils are plentiful for the hero. Featuring a cast of three, puppetry, songs and live music, the little-people pleasing show is pretty much taking up residence in the Courtyard for the whole of December.

Way up north and on the coast in Scarborough, Nick Lane is doing his usual festive magic. Lane, who learnt his craft under the wing of John Godber at Hull Truck Theatre has, in recent years, provided some impressive shows that are aimed at young people but contain enough wit to entertain everyone. He is at it again with an adaptation this year of Cinderella, with music and songs provided by the highly regarded Simon Slater.

As is Lane’s way, the story follows the Brothers Grimm, for a while at least. It tells the story of the young girl who never gets a day off, sleeps in the cellar and has clothes that are more holes than clothes. His story diverges from the original with the arrival of a trainee fairy with a wonky wand who turns up at the wrong house and, before Cinderella can ask about getting to a ball, sees her ‘helpful’ fairy turning rodents into horses, lizards into servants and shoes into glass.

The theatre is also working with Coventry University (it has a campus in Scarborough) on a co-production of a show for very young children. Sammy The Shoemaker’s Impossible day is advertised as being for children six-years-old and under. Made by the same team who previously worked on The Giant Who Had it All at the theatre, the production has much to recommend it – not only is it an opportunity to build a theatre audience of the future, it is also an opportunity for the theatre makers of tomorrow to flex their muscles in a professional production in a professional theatre.

Again, the story is possibly less important than the endeavour, although if you've ever seen a production aimed at youngsters, with an audience of youngsters, you’ll know that the under-six is a ruthless age range with no concern about simply ‘appearing’ to be entertained. The story follows brilliant shoemaker Sammy and the people who travel from all over the land to have their shoes made by him. He copes with all demands, until one day when the demands become ever more impossible.

Last week we brought you news of the big Christmas production at Hull Truck, A Christmas Carol. The East Riding is also providing for the younger audiences with Sam Caseley’s Jack, Mum and the Beanstalk. Staged in the newly crowned Godber Studio, the play is a new piece of work aimed at children three-years-old and over.

Caseley says: “I can’t wait to share the show with families at Hull Truck this Christmas. I’ve taken all the best bits of the well-known fairytale – a young, plucky hero and a wild giant that lives in the sky – and given the story a bit of a festive update. The show’s going to be a proper adventure, packed with laughs and full of great music. I’m sure both children and grown ups are going to love it. Oh, and there’s a talking chicken.”

What could be more festive.