Taking your children to the theatre in Kent

They don’t sit still for two minutes at home and asking them not to talk merely encourages more chatter - so how can you ever go about taking them to the theatre for the first time?

Every child’s boredom threshold is different but live theatre can be a hugely important part of the activities your children can enjoy with you - as both youngsters and as teenagers.

Learning to appreciate live performance, understanding and copying the behaviour of those sitting around them and enjoying something which can both be fun and at times educational are just some of the reasons to add the county’s theatre venues to your list of places to visit.

Click here for our guide to Kent's best theatres for kids.

My Kent Family asked Marlowe Theatre director - and dad-of-two - Mark Everret about taking children to the theatre.

Pick something familiar

There is no time for snobbery, says Mark. Don’t feel pressured to use their first few trips to introduce them to a completely alien world. Children’s theatre has always taken popular television shows to the stage from Postman Pat and Rosie and Jim 20 years ago, to Peppa Pig and Ben and Holly today.

“It doesn’t need to be high-brow or particularly educational’ he said. “You want to give children the opportunity to realise that watching something is very entertaining and is really great.”

Choose something lively

Pantomime is often very often a child’s first introduction to live theatre - but many other children’s shows are equally full of noise and laughter.

Singing, dancing and slapstick comedy are a good distraction for anyone starting to get a little bored by dialogue and the frequent audience participation is a good outlet for those inclined to fidget.

And don’t be too worried or fixated on your children misbehaving Mark says.

In his experience, very few do. “Most parents will more than adequately control their kids” he added.

“People need to feel comfortable. People need to feel that they are welcome and that’s so important when it comes to children.”

Enjoy yourself

Sharing an experience with others and being part of a large audience is, what Mark believes, makes live performance so different to anything children can absorb on a screen. Describing it as something very similar to the crowd experience that comes with going to live sport, he firmly believes there is no feeling like it.

Children will take their lead from the adults around them - if you’re having fun and taking part, they probably will too.

And if toddlers and children have good memories of coming to the theatre they are more likely to return either as children, teenagers or adults.

“The more you can get people to experience things together, the better. Shared experiences are the most valuable” he said.