Happy families

Parent? Grandparent? Then you don’t need me to tell you that the six weeks holidays have been going on for ooh, about eight weeks by now?

While most schools will have released their children for the summer in the last week or two, those in charge of kids for the summer might well already be tearing out their hair wondering what to do to keep the ankle-biters out of trouble. Help is at hand.

The region’s theatres are well geared up to cater for family audiences during the summer months with a variety not just of shows, but of workshops and all manner of theatrical goodies to tempt youngsters through the doors.

Perhaps the biggest of the shows for children is the one at West Yorkshire Playhouse today and tomorrow. The Gruffalo, as anyone with children even vaguely related to them will know, is the award winning picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

Having sold over 13 million copies, with stage and film adaptations, the Gruffalo is one of the most popular children’s books of modern times. A stage version has appeared on both Broadway and in the West End and is at the Leeds theatre in a new version by Tall Stories Theatre company.

Founded in 1997, the company has created several award winning shows that have toured the world. This company is literally a world leader in creating theatre for young people. The show is at the Playhouse at 11am and 2pm today, tomorrow and Sunday.

At the other end of the county in Scarborough, the Stephen Joseph Theatre, always a popular tourist attraction at this time of year, is also presenting a show for the younger audiences. The theatre is great at using all of the space it has at its disposal and The Tales of Tipsy Willow Tree continues this tradition by using the bar area to stage the story of a fairy who has lost her magic. Staged and produced by the theatre, audiences can see the show on July 29, August 5, 12, 19 and 26.

Back in Leeds the City Varieties and the Leeds Grand Theatre open their doors during the summer for the Summer Festival. Not a specific show, but a series of workshops, the festival is programmed by 11 to 15-year-olds and allows young people the chance to learn skills in puppetry, animation and song-writing.

Catherine Hayward, learning manager for the theatres, says: “We hope that by opening our doors throughout the summer that some, if not all of the children will want to get involved year-round through our Youth Theatre projects or workshops.”

And that is the real point of all of this. Theatres in the summer, be it through staged shows or organised workshops, can be a hotbed of creativity. Rather than somewhere to simply get rid of the kids and keep them occupied for a few hours, they can genuinely open up to a new audience who can discover the delights of theatre. At a time when drama is being squeezed from the curriculum and funding is under constant attack, this opening up of theatrical spaces is a win-win situation. And children can learn about a whole new theatrical world. Speaking of new theatrical worlds, the final recommendation has to be for the extraordinary The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. Based on Mark Haddon’s bestselling book, this show is at the Bradford Alhambra July 31 to August 5. Just be aware that the age restriction – over 11s – is there for good reason.a