Kids Week is back for August 2019 with West End shows and theatres across London offering free tickets for children throughout the month. It’s a brilliant initiative encouraging more young people and families to experience the magic of live theatre. Creative childcare agency Bea & Co have shared with us their top picks of what’s on over the summer…
The Gruffalo Live On Stage, The Lyric Theatre
Based on the best-selling book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffer. A magical, musical retelling of these classic children’s stories.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, The Troubadour White City Theatre
This stage adaptation brings to life Eric Carle’s iconic illustrated books with 75 puppets including Brown Bear, 10 Little Rubber Ducks, The Very Lonely Firefly and the famous Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Mr Gum And The Dancing Bear – The Musical! National Theatre
An all singing, all dancing new musical from The National Theatre based on Andy Stanton’s popular children’s book.
Another show participating in this year’s Kids Week is Where Is Peter Rabbit? at The Theatre Royal Haymarket in London’s West End. This musical retelling of the much loved Beatrix Potter tales features a talented cast of puppeteers as well as the voices of TV presenter and musician Myleene Klass as The Narrator and Welsh actor and writer Griff Rhys Jones.
Actress Grace Osborn who plays Jemima Puddle-duck shared with us her thoughts on why theatre is so important for children – “In a highly tech- crazed world, theatre is an incredible way to spark a child’s imagination. It is a safe place in which children are encouraged to be curious and to ask questions about the ideas they are presented with. It is also a very accepting place, promoting honest self expression. Most importantly however, theatre is all about PLAY!”
Alongside her work on the stage, Grace also works with Bea & Co – a unique London members agency specialising in creative childcare. Their sitters (or ‘Creatives’) work across the creative industries as West End performers, singers, artists, musicians or dancers, giving families a diverse and flexible team of creative talent that puts imagination front and centre.
Bea & Co Member, Mum and Lawyer Karen says “Introducing my child to a Creative environment has made a massive difference to her development. It has helped her to develop a sense of fun, imagination and of course her creativity. But more than that, it has helped to give her confidence, and boost her social skills. In the long run I hope that she will be able to fall back on each of those skills as she finds herself in challenging situations which require resilience.”
Commenting on the importance of creativity for children, Actor-Musician and Bea & Co Creative Elisabeth says “I think surrounding a child in a creative environment develops them in every aspect of their personality – whether they want to be an actor or an astronaut.”
Interested in joining Bea & Co for a day out this summer? On Tuesday 30th August they will be running one of their big days out and heading to see a West End show. The Mummy Tribe readers can access a special discounted rate of £99.00, plus an exclusive family discount of £50 for each additional sibling. Rates include a full day of childcare from 9am – 3pm with your own Creative buddy for the day, tickets to ‘Where Is Peter Rabbit’, picnic lunch in private gardens in central London as well as an arts & crafts workshop.
To find out more or book your ticket email london@beaandco.com
For a full list of shows participating in Kids Week visit: https://officiallondontheatre.com/kids-week/
To find out more about Bea & Co visit www.beaandco.com
