Taking DD to theatre for first time today

[CnR]

Any advice on how to ensure she gets the most out of it, and stays in her seat?

DD is 18 months old and we are going to watch as show called Wheels on the Bus; all singing and dancing, action songs type of thing and only about an hour or so long. DD does adore singing anyway and she can stay focused for quite a while. Just wondering if anyone has extra advice though as I have never taken her anywhere like this before.

If she enjoys it I am thinking of getting her tickets to see The Tweenies at Christmas. At £15 each though I need to ensure she will be able to sit that long for it so this is my trial run I guess. Has anyone seen tthe Tweenies Live? Was it worth the money. DD does love the programme.

Bear in the Big Blue House is coming too. She liked the programme but thought that might be a bit too old for her.

How lovely. No advice apart from take her fav toy/doll/teddy and various little snacks.
I took Lottie to the cinema when she was really young - I think about 10 months or so, to see The Little Polar Bear. She lasted about 30 mins or so.
Have a really great day.
PS I LOVE Bear in the Blue House and wouldn't have said it would be too old for her. Lottie is 20 and I'd take her to see Bear, she might not make it all the way through bit i think she's love it.PPS _ I HATE the Tweenies - bossy horrible multicoloured imps - won't let Lottie watch it!
ENJOY!

Hope she enjoys it. Took ds to see Postman Pat at 2.5 and he enjoyed it. He'd already seen the Tigger Movie and Thomas the Tank Engine film (c**p) by then at the cinema so was used to sitting still in the semi darkness. Would suggest you take some sort of booster seat/cushion, like you use at a table or for older kid in car , if you have one so that she can see better from her seat. Certainly some cinemas have them but not sure about theatres. Also have some nibbles/drink on hand.

have fun

I took my dd to see Noddy in the summer when she was about 21 months old. She was mesmerised.

Re the Tweenies, where is it taking place, is it a big arena style place. If so you need to take into account seating arrangments and you may be a lot further from the stage than at a normal theatre. There is lots of singing and dancing, they usually get the children involved but sound levels can be quite high. A colleague took her daughter a few years ago when she would have been around 2 or 3 and she loved it but she didn't pay for the tickets so it didn't really matter.

Hi CnR, I work in theatre, and was for many years in children's theatre. Whereas I think things like Wheels on the Bus and other shows for tinies are great for little ones, I certainly wouldn't spend £15 on taking even my 2 year old to Tweenies! But I guess it depends how long they can typically sit still for. I would follow the age guidlines issued by the theatre or theatre company...there are now several touring shows for 18 months upwards, keep an eye on your small arts centre and community venues rather than the bigger theatres, as shows for little ones are far more effective and engaging for them in a small intimate venue, and they are often inter-active. Don't under-estimate the effect of sitting in the dark, or of sudden stage effects, which are loved by 3-4 year olds (although they too often find the scary)but terrify younger ones. I used to feel very sorry watching people take screaming, wriggling, bored or frightened toddlers out of shows too old for them, and hope that it didn't put them off for life! But I am sure she will LOVE Wheels...

Thanks everyone. I ams ure she will love Wheels on the bus as it is just up her street. I am kind of expecting it to be like the video we have - Fun Song Factory.

Tweenies and Bear are on at the arena, whereas this one is in quite a smallish theatre in Sheffield. So I will bear that in mind too.

I think I need to see how she gets on today first.
Thomcat - I prefer Bear too!

Thanks again, will let you know how it goes.

is it a bbc one?

we went to the playdays xams show once and it was too much singing after a while..deck the Halls and stuff it was ok when the whybird was on tho.

I would recommend sweets in case she gets itchy feet and wants to go

CnR - Bear rocks doesn't he!
And Fizz or whoever the bossy little madam is needs her a* kicked!!!! So jealous of your day, wish I was coming with you!

Bella's the pain in the ! Right little madam. Tweenies does drive me mad to be honest but DD likes them!

Looking forward to it now - at 2pm, and only takes 10 mins to walk there. Certainly better than working anyway. Thought it was about time we did something more worthwhile on our days off together, rather than me ending up having to do the shopping, etc.

Absolutley - I end up doing loads of chores and then feeling gutted we didn't get our quality time together - so good for you, have a lovley time and report back, xx

cnr - I hope you both have a really lovely afternoon. My ds is also 18 months and he would love this I'm sure. I must find out if theere is one on near us.

DD loved the show. It lasted about an hour and half, with a short interval in the middle. DD was up onher feet the whole time dancing and trying to join in with all the songs as best as she could. And she joined in shouting for "Beep Beep Bus". It was definitely worth going and I must do it more often.

It was based on the toy bus character you can buy - a Wheels on the Bus range. In fact she enjoyed it so much I did buy her one!

Northerner - it is touring, Sheffield was about half way through the tour and it doing 3 or 4 days here. Out theatres have a good website and tell you what is coming up. There is a Christmas one too, similar type of thing for young children. Unfortunately it is only on one day and it's the day I work

Excellent - saw you were back and wondered where the update was. Glad you both had such a nice time.

is the boy?

Its in salisbury soon too..might go as the other one was such a disaster

its cheaper here than in sheffield too.. bizarre