Kids

Have we missed your London kids' theatre highlight of 2007? Let us know

1 Billy the Kid (Unicorn)
Michael Morpurgo’s anti-war tale, adapted and directed by Tony Graham at the Unicorn. Football-mad Sam (versatile young Sam Donovan) spent his days kicking a ball around the park, back-chatting his drunken down-and-out ‘uncle’ Billy and dreaming of the day he could play for Chelsea. Dudley Sutton’s Billy told his tale, from schoolboy to young footballer to the horrors of WWII. The kids chuckled, cheered and chanted – and empathised when the girl Billy loved was brutally murdered by the Nazis. Age 8+.
What we said in June

2 Igloo Hullabaloo
Performed in fully-integrated British Sign language and English, Half Moon’s sensory journey of discovery featured puppets and animated performances from Charlotte Arrowsmith and Jack Hughes, communicating a fresh, inclusive message designed to develop self-esteem and language skills. Age 2-6.
What we said in March Feature continues

3 Lifeboat
Catherine Wheels’ production at the Unicorn that told the true story of two teenage World War II evacuees, Beth (Isabelle Joss) and Bess (Suzanne Robertson), and their fight for survival after the ocean liner taking them and 96 others to safety in Canada suffered a torpedo attack. This was war as perceived by wide-eyed innocents, but its treatment was as sophisticated as it was charming. Age 8+.
What we said in March

Men of Steel

4 Men of Steel
Soho Theatre, till Jan 6
As this week’s review says, this glorious, preposterous exercise in object puppetry and Antipodean drollery is a blast. Age 5+.
Read review

5 There’s Only One Wayne Matthews
There were only two players on the field for this 55-minute footie drama – Darren Hart as Wayne Matthews and Ashley Chin as Carl Wilkins – but under Jonathan Lloyd’s direction at the Polka, they did the work of 22. Roy Williams’ play recalled an era when racial discrimination came as standard both on the pitch and in the classroom, and examined the defences that a pair of vulnerable teenage boys employed to endure it. Age 10+.
What we said in October

6 The Thought that Counts
It’s a brave theatre company that puts on a children’s show without a storyline. But in Theatre-Rites’ innovative meditation on childhood and childlike curiosity – originally commissioned by BarbicanBite05 and the Young Vic as part of the Young Genius season – five white balls and a couple of inflatables were all it took to keep the audience rapt. Age 4-7.
What we said in February