What’s On For Kids At Norwich Theatre Royal!

What you’ll notice about Norwich in general is that these days we are really excellent at arts for children. We have theatre in both performance to watch and be a part of, in abundance and for that I’m incredibly grateful. When I was growing up here it was really only the Norwich Theatre Royal who provided any kind of drama classes and performances (aside from the Puppet Theatre but that was slim pickings) and having moved to London by the time I had children of my own I saw that the plethora of offerings was wildly vast compared to what I was used to. It was a worry when we made the decision to move back to Norfolk with our young family as being an actress myself this sort of fodder was both important to me, and to my children who had until that point been taken to the theatre and immersed themselves in classes when very young. I wondered what it would be like back on home soil and 6years back in the homestead I’m very pleased to report that Norwich has moved on!

There’s such a wealth of activities for kids in the arts and a real abundance of dedicated performance for children not just at the Theatre Royal but all around and Norwich Theatre Royal hasn’t just stuck with what they always did do but has moved onwards and upwards too. School holidays always invite some fantastic productions to the stage as well as term time shows for little ones and on top of that the holiday activities have grown into something truly wonderful!

This half term the children and I attended two workshops of which they were all welcome at each because they understand that families come with all differently aged children. Although the first of our workshops was more geared up to the big kids, the tiny two were welcomed with open arms and Donna, the creative practitioner running the “paper adventures” class was truly inclusive of all the children helping them all individually as they built houses in the style of Hundertwasser, an artist, architect and environmentalist. Now this class was JUST up Jimmy’s street as he is so good at design and building with a real eye for aesthetics when it comes to art. I’d say he enjoyed it the most because it’s really his gear but Florence and Raffie also enjoyed making their creations and building something beautiful. This class was £7 a head and included all materials and clearing up which is worth its weight if you have four kiddos doing craft!

Next up that day was a class for the little ones with Little People’s Drama, both the classes were held at Stage Two, behind the main theatre and again i took all four children with me even though this was a drama class for the younger of us. My big two helped their brother and sister at times and also just watched as the hour long class into becoming a superhero taking part in the Olympics unfolded. Raffie immersed himself fully and loved every second while Posie also got to join in and run around having fun. What a wonderful class for little ones at just £5 a head and it made for a fun injection in a slower one of our days where we didn’t want an all singing, all dancing mega day out!

Discover what’s on for taking part all year round and in the school holidays here!

We finished off the holidays with a trip for the tiny two to the theatre to see Fireman Sam. The touring production of Fireman Sam saving the circus was PERFECT! A little loud and scary for Posie for the first few minutes but she soon got into it and as for Raffie, well he was in his element from the get go. This show is now off on tour again with the next stop being Cardiff. Check out all the tour dates here, with the next local one being in Lowestoft in April. And for upcoming kid’s shows at Theatre Royal Norwich look no further than their website www.norwichtheatre.org, where we personally have our eye on the Milkshake Live Show on the 17th of April!

There’s lots on be they at the Theatre Royal, on the Stage Two stage or as part of a workshop in a studio upstairs, The norwich Playhouse, Interlude and of course on the digital stage. It’s a very affordable and worthwhile way of entertaining children and gives them memories but also teaches them important skills. Fun, educational and so happy making!

The only thing, and it really is the only thing, which annoys me about children’s theatre be it at Norwich Theatre Royal or anywhere else, is how the production companies cream money in selling merchandise at highly inflated prices. They kind of have you over a barrel once there as when everyone else is getting a £7 light up wand it’s hard to say no. But… And this is the real reason i can’t stand it, it’s absolutely not inclusive and puts people off going to the theatre altogether which is a massive shame. Theatre is so important for children and selling cheap tat for a song absolutely nothing to do with that so I always mention, because I hope at some point someone will listen and understand that what I’m saying makes sense, all theatres need to insist the merch is proportional to the value of the items which can be picked up in pound shops OR sell their own flashing wands at a much more reasonable price. Once you’ve paid for tickets to see a show, to have to dig deep for these items can be make or break in the deciding factor of going or not and is for a lot of people I know, including myself. I have four children, if we all go that’s potentially another £28 and frankly I can’t afford that. It’s a bug bear of mine, especially when it comes to theatre as I really do believe it’s super important to take children, it’s a meaningful experience which greatly benefits them and yet this can leave a pretty sour taste. As a reviewer and columnist I will only ever say my true opinions, good and bad, over taking a vanilla voice to keep clients happy – at the end of the day if I recommend something then you need to know the good, the bad and the ugly!

So… Without meaning to diminish the show and the offerings of others (because as always this is so welcome and so good) I do have to say that bit. I’ll stop ranting now!

We were guests at Norwich Theatre Royal for these classes mentioned and Fireman Sam Saves The Circus.