Going to the theatre

On Friday I was lucky enough to be invited to the National Theatre of Scotland’s fifth birthday event in Glasgow. Afterwards while sampling some of the delightful food they had put on for us I spoke to a lady from the National Theatre about taking children to the theatre. She has a daughter a little older than mine and so was pleased when I said I like taking my children to the theatre.

She told me that there is a considerable research which has found that the number one reason why adults go to the theatre is because they were taken as a child. Schools may take them but this has no effect. It needs to be a family affair.

I can totally understand that. I think it is great that schools make the effort to take children to the theatre but I can totally see why going to the theatre for fun won’t enter many children’s heads.

Recently we told the children the story of Greyfriar’s Bobby and we all sat and watched the 1962 version of the film, with the children laughing at what they thought of as strange accents.

Schools can make subjects seem boring and so we want to show the children that all these stories are fun and exciting. My children already have a good knowledge of history and they view it as something to discover rather than something to learn.

The theatre should be the same. But there is an assumption that schools are more likely to go than families. Recently I tried booking a few shows but found that many were only showing during school hours.

A rethink needed.