With summer starting to break through ands the kids starting to break up from school, there are a lot of theatre shows heading to the West End to entertain adults and children alike.
Here’s my top ten shows to take the kids to this summer….
The 3 Little Pigs
Palace Theatre
5 August – 6 September
Recommended for ages 3+
Click here to buy tickets from £20.00
SIMON WEBBE (Blue, Strictly Come Dancing, Sister Act), ALISON JIEAR (Olivier Nominated – Jerry Springer, On The Town, Britain’s Got Talent), LEANNE JONES (Hairspray), TAOFIQUE FOLARIN (The Lion King, Avenue Q) and DANIEL BUCKLEY (Book of Mormon) star in this latest musical from the dynamic and multi-award winning musical theatre song-writing duo that is GEORGE STILES and ANTHONY DREWE.Stiles (music) and Drewe (book and lyrics) put their own musical twist on the retelling of this classic fairytale which will play at The Palace Theatre from Wednesday 5th August to Sunday 6th September 2015. Discover how the three little porkers become world renowned celebrity superstars when forced to leave the warmth of their mother’s overcrowded sty. Will the Three Little Pigs cope without their adoring mother’s “hogs and kisses”? Will their DIY building skills cut the mustard? And will they be able to stand on their own four trotters and outwit the Big Bad Wolf?
Hetty Feather
Duke of Yorks Theatre
6 August – 6 September
Recommended for ages 7+
Click here to buy tickets from £20.00
Set in London in 1876, the story itself starts at the Foundling Hospital – our heroine Hetty Feather is abandoned as a baby at the hospital, but gets fostered until age 5 by her kind-hearted foster parents. who live in a big house with other foundlings and the couple’s own children.However when a circus moves into town, our feisty Hetty sneak off to see the show. Hetty is mesmerized by what she sees but has to soon return to the Foundling Hospital to begin her schooling. She misses her friends, especially Jem who has promised to marry her when she comes of age, but Hetty now has the chance to find her real mother. Will she find her in the circus?
Horrible Histories – Barmy Britain part 3
Garrick Theatre
25 July – 5 September
Recommended for ages 6+
Click here to buy tickets from £15.00
We all want to meet people from history. The trouble is everyone is dead! So BARMY BRITAIN is back with a brand new show full of crazy new characters and rude new rulers from Britain’s barmy past!Will King John be a martyr for the Magna Carta? Party with the Puritans and light up your life with the great fire of London! Clap along with crazy King Charles! Will you see eye to eye with Admiral Nelson? Does the Duke the Wellington get the boot? Vomit with the vile Victorians and make a great escape the First World War!After the sell-out success of Barmy One and Two comes this amazing new show. It’s history with the nasty bits left in.
Matilda
Cambridge Theatre
Currently booking until 29 May 2016
Recommended for ages 6+
Click here to buy tickets from £26.00
Matilda The Musical is the multi-award winning musical from the Royal Shakespeare Company, inspired by the beloved book by the incomparable Roald Dahl.
Everyone’s a little bit naughty but if the kids have been good and deserve treat, Matilda is one of the best familiy-friendly shows around. From the moment you walk into the theatre you are surrounded by pictures drawn by children lining the bars and walk ways. The set design is bright and colourful, the songs ridiculously catchy and the Roald Dahl’s story is beautiful and timeless.
Matilda The Musical is the story of an extraordinary little girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny.
Pinocchio
Greenwich Theatre
5 – 23 August
Recommended for ages 5+
Click here to buy tickets from £11.00
Originally produced at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, a new musical adaptation of the classic children’s story will receive its UK Premiere at Greenwich Theatre this summer.Based on Carlo Collodi’s classic tale, Pinocchio tells the story of a wooden puppet yearning to be a real boy. Carved out of wood by the lonely toymaker Geppetto, Pinocchio tumbles from one disastrous situation to another in search of adventure — only to discover that, in the end, all he really needs is an unselfish heart and the love of his father.Written by the Broadway and Disney writing duo Neil Bartram and Brian Hill (The Story of My Life, Bedknobs and Broomsticks), this family musical brings a new vision of the timeless story to the stage, springing to life with inventive and awe-inspiring puppetry, live musicians, singers and performers.
The Railway Children
Kings Cross Theatre
Running until 6 September
Recommended for ages 2+
Click here to buy tickets from £15.00
Set in a brand new, purpose built 1,000 seat venue, this breathtaking show features a stage built around a real train track, and a beautiful 60 tonne vintage locomotive that steams into the theatre to delight all ages. A truly unique theatrical experience, The Railway Children returns to London after winning the Olivier Award for BEST ENTERTAINMENT in its previous home at Waterloo.Don’t miss your chance to join Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis on the adventure of a lifetime as they tell the story of how they became The Railway Children.
Wicked
Apollo Victoria Theatre
Currently booking until 30 April 2016
Recommended for ages 7+
Click here to buy tickets from £20.00
When Dorothy famously triumphed over the Wicked Witch, we only ever heard one side of the story. Gregory Maguire’s acclaimed 1995 novel, ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’, re-imagined the Land of Oz, creating a parallel universe to the familiar story written by L. Frank Baum and first published as ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ in 1900.
Wicked tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two girls who first meet as sorcery students at Shiz University: the blonde and very popular Glinda and a misunderstood green girl named Elphaba.Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences for her future.
Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Impossible
Noel Coward Theatre
24 July – 29 August
Recommended for ages 6+
Click here to buy tickets from £13.00
Bring out the Paul Daniels in your child by introducing them to the world of magic with this new show Impossible.
Fusing dazzling grand illusions, up-close-and-personal magic, cutting-edge technological tricks and death-defying stunts, performed live on stage before your eyes, IMPOSSIBLE is the breathtaking spectacular not to be missed!
Prepare to be mesmerized and baffled as director Anthony Owen, the triple BAFTA-winning Executive Producer behind Channel 4’s Derren Brown, brings together world-class performers showing off a stunning range of magical artistry, from astonishing acts of epic proportions to dumbfounding sleight of hand.
Featuring modern-day Houdini, daredevil and TV escapologist Jonathan Goodwin; sophisticated sorceress Katherine Mills; grand illusionist Luis de Matos, mind-blowing mind-reader Chris Cox; spell-binding digital marvel Jamie Allan, boundary breaking magician Ben Hart, sleight of hand master Ali Cook, and explosive street illusionist Magical Bones, this summer watch the IMPOSSIBLE happen!
The Play That Goes Wrong
Duchess Theatre
Currently booking until 14 February 2016
Recommended for ages 8+
Click here to buy tickets from £20.00
The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society attempt to put on a 1920s’ murder mystery, but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong… does, as the accident prone thesps battle on against all the odds to get to their final curtain call.This brilliant new laugh out loud comedy performed by Mischief Theatre Company has enjoyed two successful runs in the West End and was the sell out smash hit of the Edinburgh Festival with its sensational reviews, numerous accolades and awards. The Play That Goes Wrong is guaranteed to leave you aching with laughter from the moment you enter the theatre until the moment you leave.
War Horse
New London Theatre
Currently booking until 13 February 2016
Recommended for ages 10+
Click here to buy tickets from £20.00
Based on the beloved novel by Michael Morpurgo, this powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring music and songs, is a show of phenomenal inventiveness. At its heart are astonishing life-sized horses by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, who bring breathing, galloping, charging horses to thrilling life on stage.
War Horse is an unforgettable theatrical event which takes audiences on an extraordinary journey from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of First World War France.