Getting your kid away from a screen is like trying to ply chewing gum out of your hair. But if you can take what’s on that screen and present it to them IRL, you’ll be a hero. This Kids Week, treat your child to a trip to the theatre to see a brilliant stage version of a great movie. From bright, fun cult classics to moving tales about grief, inspiring true stories to an immersive concert experience, there’s something for every child – and you’ll love it, too.
Chicago
What came first: the musical or the film? Obviously, the musical but both the iconic 2002 film and the current production at the Phoenix Theatre are sensational pieces of entertainment.
Chicago tells the story of Roxie and Velma – two rival performers who are both arrested for murder – during the prohibition. Locked up in the same County Jail, their stories satirise the corruption within the criminal justice system – all set to sensational music and gorgeous dance numbers.
Get your Kids Week tickets to Chicago, here.
Dreamgirls
Everything Beyoncé touches is gold – including the 2006 Dreamgirls film. See the musical that inspired the Oscar-winning film at the Savoy Theatre and experience of hearing that big number LIVE – chills, tingles and hairs on end included.
Taking inspiration from R&B acts including James Brown, Jackie Wilson and The Shirelles, Dreamgirls follows the tumultuous journey of a young female singing trio from Chicago called ‘The Dreams’. During the rollercoaster ride to the top of the charts, they learn that stardom isn’t as glamorous as seems.
Get your Kids Week tickets to Dreamgirls, here.
The Importance Of Being Earnest
Oscar Wilde’s timeless classic. Incredible both on stage and in film. Though, you can’t quite beat the original, can you? If you loved either the 1952 or 2002 film, you’ll adore this production at the Vaudeville Theatre.
The Importance Of Being Earnest sees the lengths people will go for love… and that the course of love doesn’t always run smoothly. See Jack, Algy, Gwendolyn and Cecily muddle through a bout of “mistaken” identity all for the heart. But while the young suitors are causing chaos, Lady Bracknell watches with a strict eye.
To get your Kids Week tickets to The Importance Of Being Earnest, click here.
The King And I
Getting to know The King And I is pretty easy seeing as there’s a book, three films and this multi-award-winning production on at the London Palladium based on this beautiful tale.
Based on Margaret Landon’s novel, Anna And The King Of Siam, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s charming musical whisks you away to 1860s Bangkok where the modernist King has employed Anna – a British schoolteacher – to teach his many wives and children English in an effort to modernise the country. But this appointment leads to a bitter conflict – and, secretly, a burgeoning love – between the two, neither of whom are prepared to admit their feelings.
To get your Kids Week tickets to The King And I, click here.
Kinky Boots
The Olivier and Tony Award-winner came to be after the 2005 film of the same name. Kinky Boots tells the true story of an unlikely pairing who accomplish incredible things.
Charlie inherits a failing shoe factory from his dad. Burdened by this father’s memory and the responsibility of the staff’s livelihoods, he tries to come up with a way to keep the factory going. A chance meeting with drag performer Lola leads to a brilliant but risky business proposition and a new-found friendship.
To get your Kids Week tickets to Kinky Boots, click here.
Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein
The Oscar-nominated Mel Brooks film made a generation howl with laughter in 1974. Last year, the musical stage adaptation swept into the West End and put Putting On The Ritz on the map.
Focusing on Victor Frankenstein’s estranged grandson, Dr Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced‘Fronk-en-steen’), Young Frankenstein shows what happens when you have a family reputation to uphold. Filled with cheeky jokes, tongue-in-cheek songs and a whole lot of silliness, Young Frankenstein will give you LIFE!
To get your Kids Week tickets to Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, click here.
A Monster Calls
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Based on Patrick Ness’ award-winning novel – and with a 2016 film starring Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones and Lewis MacDougall – A Monster Calls is a touching tale about grief, suffering and love.
Centring on 13-year-old Connor O’Malley who has been looking after himself and his mum since she became very sick. And when she doesn’t seem to be getting any better, things take a turn for a worse. Conor’s grandmother won’t stop interfering and the kids at school won’t look him in the eye. Then, one night, at 12.07am, Conor is woken by something at his window. A monster has come walking and it’s come to tell Conor tales from when it walked before.
To get your Kids Week tickets to A Monster Calls, click here.
The Phantom Of The Opera
If you love Gerard Butler as The Phantom in 2004, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical has been drawing in the crowds since 1986, there has to be a good reason, huh?
Far beneath the majesty and splendour of the Paris Opera House hides The Phantom who lives a shadowy existence. Shamed by his physical appearance and feared by all, he “haunts” the backstage. Falling in love with a young chorus singer, Christine Daaé, he transforms her into a star. When The Phantom’s love for his beautiful protégée grows so strong that he asks her to spend her life with him in his subterranean kingdom, he is devastated when she is rescued by her lover – and vows revenge.
To get your Kids Week tickets to The Phantom Of The Opera, click here.
School Of Rock
Based on the 2003 comedy starring Jack Black and adapted for the stage by Andrew Lloyd Webber, this rocking musical has all the catchy songs your earworm craves and all the laughs your belly wants to experience.
School Of Rock tells of a wayward musician who finds himself without a job, without a band and without a plan. Intercepting a call for his flatmate, he winds up taking a substitute teacher position at a prestigious private school where he teaches the value of rock… but not Maths, Enligh and Science. Can he turn these preppy kids into a band worthy to win The Battle Of The Bands? Or will their parents discover his true identity?
To get your Kids Week tickets to School Of Rock, click here.
Strictly Ballroom
So. Much. FUN! The era-defying Baz Luhrmann film rekindled the world’s love of ballroom dancing. And this year’s musical has rekindled the West End’s love for joy-filled shows. Full of colour, fake tan and pop songs sung live by Matt Cardle, this live-action version of the cult 90s film will have you feeling the love in the air.
When championship ballroom dancer Scott Hastings decides to break away from the norm and perform his own steps at a competition, he loses his partner, his reputation and his chance at gold. Unwilling to conform, he finds an unlikely partner in a beginner. And as the pair work together, they find it’s not just dancing that draws them together.
To get your Kids Week tickets to Strictly Ballroom, click here.
The Woman In Black
Did the 2012 film starring Daniel Radcliffe send a bead of sweat down your spine? Then get ready to be quaking in your boots with the play. Based on Susan Hill’s 1983 novel, The Woman In Black is a tense and chilling thriller that will stay with you long after the curtain’s gone down.
Alone in the isolated Eel Marsh House, Arthur Kipps is unaware of the tragedy lurking in the house’s dark corners. When he catches a glimpse of a wasted young woman dressed completely in black, Arthur tries to discover more about her but finds the locals avoid his questions. Years later, he recounts his experiences in a theatre, desperate to exorcise the ghosts of the past.
To get your Kids Week tickets to The Woman In Black, click here.
Sound And Sorcery
Inspired by Disney’s Fantasia, Sounds And Sorcery is an immersive concert experience that’ll take you to a whole other world.
Explore the cavernous space below Waterloo Station and step into fantasy lands directly from the film. Meet dancing hippos, walk in a prehistoric wasteland, seek out the fairies in a magical forest and, if you dare, sneak into the Sorcerer’s lair.
To get your Kids Week tickets to Sounds and Sorcery, click here.
42nd Street
Based on the 1933 film of the same name, the backstage musical has been keeping audiences toe-tappingly happy since its first Broadway production in 1980. The current West End production has been a shining example of musical glamour since last year.
42nd Street follows Peggy Sawyer who’s fresh off the bus from small-town America and just another face in the chorus line of Broadway’s newest show. But when the leading lady gets injured, Peggy might just have the shot at stardom she’s always dreamed of…
To get your Kids Week tickets to 42nd Street, click here.
There are plenty of other shows included in Kids Week. To find out more about it, click here.