Play time
Family theatre shows reviewed by adults and children together
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The Iron Man review – Ted Hughes classic clangs on to stageA talented team throw everything from shadow puppetry to live fire at the well-loved tale, but it’s hard to make out the story
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Snowflakes review – CBeebies' Cerrie Burnell delivers a festive treatBurnell has adapted her own book for a show for under-sevens featuring songs, audience participation and some charming puppets
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Babe, the Sheep-Pig review – puppet porker's farmyard caperThis Dick King-Smith adaptation is a bit unsteady on its trotters but its merriment has some of the audience bouncing in their seats
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How to Hide a Lion review – kids' book comes to life with a roarPeter Glanville directs an enchanting musical adaptation of Helen Stephens’ picture book about a girl who strikes up a friendship with a forlorn lion
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Underneath a Magical Moon review – Peter Pan retold in a Wendy houseThe children’s favourite is brought thrillingly up to date with a string of fairy lights, a handful of glitter and a healthy dose of imagination
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The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark review – a chirpy tale, beautifully toldParts of the narration may fly over the heads of its youngest watchers, but this show about a bird branching out into the world is vivid, sweet and gently thrilling
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Let's Fly review – a featherlight adventureA companion piece to this theatre’s autumn show Emily Rising delivers some escapist fun for the under-sixes
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Emily Rising review – the girl who floated away from her familyDan Rebellato’s play, which follows a 10-year-old facing the world when her parents split up, is beautiful, sad and full of clever touches
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The Railway Children review – Justin Fletcher boards first-class crowdpleaserThe CBeebies favourite has been cast as Mr Perks in this imaginative adaptation of E Nesbit’s classic – but the real star of the show pulls in later
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Baby Show review – peekaboo performance enchants young audienceThis garden-set solo show fascinates 10-month-old Laurie, who claps, aaahs approvingly and then attempts to eat the props
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Chester Tuffnut review – woodland puppet drama for little adventurersThis children’s show is boosted by a beautiful set design and imaginatively realised creatures, including a couple of sock-snails
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The Little Gardener review – kids dig this greenhouse puppet showThere’s not much story to speak of, but this play based on Emily Hughes’s picturebook offers the young crowd the chance to get their hands dirty
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Bed Time review – gymnastic silliness targets toddler funny boneBy aiming solely to amuse six-and-unders, this show about the chaos of getting to bed is hysterical – thanks to squirted water, disco freakouts and a ‘boogieman’
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The Wondercrump World of Roald Dahl review – stuffy history gives way to whoopee-cushion delightFrom Going Solo’s deserts, through the Fantastical forests of Mr Fox to Matilda’s magic library, this walk through the author’s worlds comes to life with a stutter
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Peppa Pig’s Surprise review – a squirting, snorting, exhausting showA puppet Peppa and her family have fun around the house in a touring stage version that stays close to the TV series and gets the kids singing and giggling
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Grass review – lawn party offers lessons about natureFrom tubs of mud to two bees performing a wiggly nectar dance, this is an informative but oddly paced introduction to insects and vegetation
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Dear Father Christmas review – cartwheels and hoedowns with SantaIt may not have the most sophisticated narrative, but this tale of Santa looking for a polar bear pal is an engaging and funny Christmas treat
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Aladdin review – a sweet-throwing, cutlass-waving delightKids are likely to relish an infectiously fun show that sticks to the rulebook and offers festive spirit in abundance
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Wow! Said the Owl review – the wit to woo young and oldLizzie Wort’s sparkling one-woman show floods the stage with colour and a thousand magical flourishes
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The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me review – a charming Roald Dahl adaptation for ChristmasThe tale of an improbable trio of window-cleaning animals has been adapted into a perfect Christmas treat for children
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Percy the Park Keeper’s Winter Park review – the kids sigh with happinessNick Butterworth’s picture book After the Storm is brought to the stage in a comforting production with some precious moments
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Snow Child review – a winter's tale of simple charmEmma Reeves’s story, based on a number of Russian folk tales, doesn’t shy away from the unfairness of family life
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The Bear review – move over War Horse, this polar puppet is magicAdapted from Raymond Briggs’s picture book, this enchanting production is everything children’s theatre should be
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The Journey Home review – a conservation fable for kidsAn inventive and earnest staging of Frann Preston-Gannon’s book boasts beautiful puppets but goes adrift for some younger audience members
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Oddly review – puppets populate a spellbinding showHandmade puppets teach friendship and hugging, in a mysterious world adapted from Joyce Dunbar’s book
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Rosie's Magic Horse review – classic children's book is reined in on stageRussell Hoban’s tale of an adventure to a lollipop mountain is adapted with some lively flashes but this show loses the original’s oblique charms
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Breaking the Ice review – a frisky Arctic adventure for childrenA polar bear and a husky strike up a friendship in a show that captivates the audience with digital projections, fun costumes and warm performances
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Alice review – Lewis Carroll's classic reimagined and crammed with ideasCreation Theatre’s updated, promenade version of Alice in Wonderland is sophisticated stuff aimed at young adults but doesn’t lose sight of its core appeal
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The Three Little Pigs review – overdone and undercookedThis musical version of the classic tale, with Blue’s Simon Webbe as the big bad wolf, has sizzling moments but fails to bring the house down
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Pinocchio review – dark, knotty and very good funAn exquisitely designed adaptation of the children’s classic that captivates from start to finish
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Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain Part Three review – sparky, cheeky and covered in pooBawdy slapstick has pace problems but is smartly enlivened by a brilliant comic double act’s naughtiness
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Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales review – Julia Donaldson's beasts come to lifeAlthough a little overlong, these Julia Donaldson stories burst onto the stage in a riot of gleefully unsophisticated energy
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The Tale of Mr Tumble review – a nose-honking good timeCBeebies’ resident clown shares his origin myth at a Manchester international festival appearance that is seriously silly
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Fowl Play review – farmyard tale needs a little animal magicThe marionettes in this floating puppet show are beautiful and skilfully used, but the story is aimless and the young audience is not on board
Eric Idle's The Owl and the Pussycat review – Python primer for kids is a hoot