Taking a 4 year old to the theatre

[Summerisdone]

I've just seen the announcement that Matilda is touring the U.K. in late 2018, DS will be turning 4 in October 2018, so depending the date the show is performing in my city it will be just before or just after his birthday and I thought it would make as a nice thing to do for him, as well as the fact I'd love to see the show too.

AIBU taking a child of that age to watch a theatre show? I've only ever been to see Dirty Dancing and Grease (when I was in school) so I'm not really sure as to what age is too young?

4? No way. For one I've heard it's not kiddy-widdy fun time, it can be quite dark and scary, and it's also long, and it's at 7.30pm and therefore late into the night. A four year old is going to be fidgety, bored and probably cry. Maybe see a matinee if you're really keen to drop £50 on something a toddler is barely going to look at.

I'm making arrangements already to take my eldest child, but the youngest will be 6 so, no, too young. She won't even stay awake, let alone pay attention.

If they were used to shorter things then they'd probably manage just fine. Have some quiet distractions in place in case they got fidgety.

But, if they've not done shorter things yet then you might find it's a long time to stay settled.

Some theatres do children's afternoons etc or eekend performances that can be quite interactive. Maybe that could be a nice thing to try before a big show.

Most shows, including Matilda, run matinee as well as evening performances, so staying up late is not always an issue.

I paid a fortune for tickets for Matilda in the West End. The show was ruined by a young child who screamed and fussed the whole way through. Staff asked the parents to remove the child, but they kept bringing him back in when he calmed down, only to kick off again.

Age advice is there for good reason & I think that 4 is too young for that show. He may sit quietly, but he may also ruin it for a lot of other people and theatre tickets are so expensive. Try something aimed at pre-schoolers for a 4 year old.

I have taken four year olds to the theatre to see shows aimed at pre schoolers - where the audience is all pre schoolers and their parents - so a bit of noise and wriggling is accepted. The shows for younger children tend to be much shorter so they can cope and have a bit of audience participation to keep them engaged.

On the other hand I have also had a theatre experience (which I bought as a gift for my adult DD - it was a ballet) ruined by a small child sitting in front of us who was bored rigid and wouldn't be quiet or sit still and the parent didn't have the nous to take them out. That's very annoying when you've looked forward to something and paid a lot of money for tickets.

I think he'll enjoy Matilda when he's older - and then you get to go again

Please don't take a 4 year old to see Matilda. Im sure it's either 6 or 7+ and you put the ushers in an awkward position if you take your child in. I went to see it in London last year and a family with young children were sat near to me. The constant questions at an inappropriately loud volume really spoiled it for me.
Take your 4 year old to child friendly productions where they don't mind children talking and babies fussing. There's a time and a place for 4 year olds at the theatre, and a touring west end show when people are paying £50 a ticket is really not the best place to start!

Look, it's not just the sitting quietly (and not eating all the time, or rustling sweet wrappers). My main concern with very young children is that it's that often a huge sensory overload to see a piece of theatre made primarily for adults and older children - it's just too much for younger ones. And a big West End style show behind a proscenium arch, in a large auditorium, is not a great intro to the wonderful art form of theatre.

That's why there are many theatre companies who make work specifically for specific age groups. Look around for some in your area: best place to check is your local Library, or local Council. If you have a largeish publicly funded theatre in your town, check with them - they're likely to run stuff for children, and often very young children. But it'll be lower in sensory load, quieter, more intimate, and probably more interactive.

We took DD (3.5) to see Peppa the live show at the theatre. She panicked and asked to go home for at least half of it. We then took her to see Bear Hunt at our local smaller theatre and she still hated some of it but joined in and talked about it afterwards. So we've booked Tiger who came to Tea for next month to just keep trying with little shows designed for her age to get her used to it.

She also did her first cinema trip yesterday. She seems to find it all very overwhelming. Just sensitive I guess. But GPs are desperate to do Disney and pantos but I think we have a way to go.

Personally I loved Matilda but think 4 might be a bit on the young side?

I don't think Matilda is suitable for a 4yo. We took DS when he was 6 and he was entertained, but I don't think he really got it at all!

As others have said there are quite a few shows aimed at preschoolers. We went to see 'The Sooty Show' recently. It was absolutely fantastic. Non stop laughter from all the children. A brilliant first theatre experience with no pressure to be quiet. We have a couple of other trips planned. We are going to Northern Ballet Theatre's 'Goldilocks'. They do short ballets aimed at children and are much less formal. Some of their children's ballets have been shown on CBeebies. We are also going to 'Sarah and Duck' which is my little one's absolutely favourite TV show. I would start with something more aimed at young children.

I won't be buying tickets to take DS to watch Matilda. As I said, I really don't have a lot of experience with the theatre so I wasn't sure if it would be suitable for a 4 year old, which is why I asked about it.
I also hadn't realised that Matilda would be unsuitable for a child so young as I presumed it was child friendly due to the film, (it's been too many years since I read the book).
I do plan on taking DS to other productions that are more geared to his age so by the time he is old enough to sit through a full west end show, he will hopefully then have an appreciation for live performances and then finally I will have someone to go to shows with

By complete chance scrolling through Facebook I have found the first show to take him to as Paw Patrol have just announced they'll be doing a live show tour of the UK, which I think is definitely something DS would enjoy.

My DS's first west end musical was Matilda, a month before his 5th birthday - he was totally enthralled by it and was as good as gold. He loved all the songs and thought the child actors were very funny. Anything vaguely unsuitable went straight over his head (and there really wasn't anything that scary/unsuitable). He had already been to quite a few shorter productions (Gruffalo etc) so I had a pretty good idea he would behave well in the theatre. You know your own child - by next year you will have a better idea.

Maybe try a pantomime when they're a bit older around Christmas, that might be a good idea. Love the idea how cultured and appreciative of culture your DC will be.

Actualy some places advertise for summer holiday shows, so might be worth keeping a look out.

Hi,
I think it completely depends on the child and how they behave. I took my (then) 4 and 5 year old daughters to see Matilda in December last year and they both loved it. They found Mrs Trunchbull hilarious as it was a man dressed as a woman so weren't frighted. We had read the book at that stage, they had watched the film so were aware of the story. We got seats in the front row and the cast kept on winking, smiling and pointing at them which they loved! We have also been to see The Lion King, Aladdin, Charlie and the chocolate factory, The Snowman and we going to see Annie next week. I do always explain before we go in that this is a very special thing to do and that all the people around us will be excited to see the show and they don't want to hear children chatting or being naughty and if they are we will leave straight away - no second chances. Its not really needed as they are well behaved, but i like to set out the rules just in case! We always book a box if we can as well as it does give you a bit more freedom if they want the toilet etc. I would hate to ruin someone else experience and are very mindful of those around me. My girls are also at a weekend drama school so very into the whole theatre experience. I would also point out they are both at school (Reception and Year 1) and so are the older side of their ages. If you decided to go I hope you have a wonderful time x