Ben Hewis at WhatsOnStage wrote this article recently listing the 123 Twitter accounts every theatregoer should be following. We wanted to add to that and bring you the twitter accounts of the individuals, theatres, companies and organisations that are creating and showing great theatre for young audiences.
People
- @sargent65 – Sarah Argent is a pretty prolific director and writer creating work for early years audiences. She wrote and directed Grandad, Me … and Teddy Too which is currently on at Polka Theatre
- @tessabide – Tessa Bide is a writing, directing, performing, puppeteering, tap-dancing whirlwind, touring her own one-woman productions for young people like The Tap Dancing Mermaid, as well as working with other children’s theatre companies
- @shonareppe – Shona is another amazing theatre maker who can do it all, creating small scale touring theatre shows for children, like the excellent The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean
- @SueBuckmaster – Sue is the Artistic Director of leading children’s theatre company Theatre-Rites. She is particularly interested in object-led theatre and is nicknamed the The Puppet Whisperer
- @adampuppet – Until recently, Adam Bennett was the Artistic Director of the charming Little Angel Theatre. He is co-founder of DNA Puppetry and Visual Theatre, and if you love puppets, you’l love his tweets
- @PeteTrash – Peter Glanville founded Kazzum, a theatre company creating professional theatre for children to bridge the gap between education and entertainment. He went on to be Artistic Director of Little Angel Theatre, and is now the Artistic Director of Polka Theatre
- @miranda_thain – Miranda Thain is Creative Producer at Theatre Hullabaloo, and has lots of experience with theatre for young audiences, having worked for tutti frutti productions, M6 Theatre Company and Konflux Theatre in Education. She also created the story for the fantastic production Luna
- @Chloe_PageOne – Chloe is Artistic Director of children’s theatre company Page One. She is also a freelance director, currently working on the Rose Theatre’s Christmas Production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Journalism
- @guardianstage – The Guardian is leading the way when it comes to covering theatre for young audiences. Their series ‘Play time’ has adults and children reviewing family theatre shows
- @HarryTheSpiv – Harry Mottram is the creator and editor of Children’s Theatre Magazine, which covers professional standard theatre for children
- @lyngardner – Long time reviewer for The Guardian, Lyn Gardner was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Arts award in 2013 for championing children’s theatre
- @ChrisWiegand – Chris is the theatre, comedy and dance editor at the Guardian, and regularly writes and includes reviews for children’s theatre
- @Childplays_kt – Tweets from the childplays blog. A mother, Katy, reviews children’s shows with her daughter and gives tips and advice for getting the best from taking children to the theatre
- @SusanElkinJourn – Susan Elkin is an education and arts journalist who has been regularly contributing to The Stage for over 20 years. Her article ‘For goodness sake take theatre for young audiences seriously’ was a great call to arms shared by lovers of theatre for young audiences across the country and around the world
Organisations
- @ASSITEJ – ASSITEJ Int is the International Association of Theaters for Young Audiences. It aims to bring together the community of theatres, organizations and individuals across the world who are dedicated to theatre for children and young people
- @TYAUK1 – Theatre for Young Audiences UK (TYA UK) is the UK centre of ASSITEJ. Birmingham was recently chosen to host the 19th World Festival of Theatre for Young Audiences in 2016, which will be led by TYA UK and TYA Ireland (@TYAIreland), and programmed by Purni Morell, Artistic Director of Unicorn Theatre
- @KidsWeek – Kids Week runs throughout the whole month of August, helping children to go to participating shows either for free or for a reduced price
- @ImaginateUK – Imaginate promote and develop the performing arts for children and young people in Scotland, and organizing the incredible Imaginate Festival each year
- @IYAF – The International Youth Arts Festival at the Rose Theatre in Kingston runs every summer and is the largest youth arts festival of its kind in the UK
- @childrensarts – Action For Children’s Arts is a UK charity campaigning for children’s equal rights to the arts, connecting like-minded professionals and celebrating children’s arts in the UK
- @FamilyArtFest – The Family Arts Festival runs over the October Half Term, inviting organisations, venues and companies to provide theatre, dance, music and visual events to encourage families to engage with the arts
- @TakeOffFestival – Take Off Festival celebrates theatre for young audiences in the North East of England throughout the year, and runs a festival of some of the best work each Autumn
Companies
- @A1000Cranes – A Thousand Cranes are a Japanese children’s theatre company, with artistic directors Kumiko Mendl & Vicky Ireland. Their most recent production is an adaptation of the picturebook Me and My Cat?
- @floodsofink – Floods of Ink are an amazing company formed from the Rose Bruford TYA course. Their recent production Up in the Attic shows they really know what they are doing
- @angelscompany – Company of Angels create challenging theatre for and with young people . They also run projects such as The Commissioners, which allows young people to commission professional playwrights to write new short plays
- @CWheelsTheatre – Award-winning theatre company Catherine Wheels produce theatre for young audiences that has been performed across the world. Recently, they created an app for children to accompany their production White, which they believe is the first app of its kind
- @feveredsleep – Fevered Sleep’s artistic, surreal tweets are always a joy. They make new work in performance, installation, film, publication and digital art, and their new production, Dusk has just opened at the Young Vic
- @tuttifruttiprod – Tutti Frutti are a children’s theatre company at the top of their game. Producing a wide variety of work for children aged 3+ and their families, they also produce plays by the Olivier-award winning Mike Kenny like The Princess and the Pea
- @theatriolo – Theatr Iolo want to welcome babies to the theatre at 6 months old, and continue to create work that will engage and excite them for the rest of their life
- @oilycart – Oily Cart have been making astonishing work since 1981, creating multi-sensory and highly interactive productions for the very young and for young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities
- @hullabalootweet – Theatre Hullabaloo, based in the North East, makes high quality theatre for young people, who they consider the most important audience of all
- @TCLive – Theatre Centre have been touring new writing to venues and schools around the country for over 60 years. To commemorate the centenary of the First World War, their current show is The Muddy Choir
Venues
- @artsdepot – Artsdepot in North Finchley is an award-winning multiplatform arts venue using their great studio space for children’s theatre
- @polkatheatre – Polka Theatre in Wimbledon was the first children’s theatre in the UK, and remains the only one to have a dedicated space for early years performances
- @YorkTheatre – Along with Tutti Frutti, York Theatre Royal present the Little Feet Festival of Children’s Theatre annually, presenting the best shows touring the UK for children aged 6 months to 12 years
- @TheGulbenkian – The Gulbenkian in Kent offers a high quality arts programme, keeping the empowerment of children and young people at the core of their activity
- @macrobert – The Macrobert Arts Centre is Central Scotland’s leading arts venue with a commitment to programming work for children and families
- @LakesideArts – Lakeside Arts Centre in Nottingham presents children’s theatre year round, and is also home to Wheee! Lakeside’s International Children’s Theatre and Dance Festival which has seen over 35,000 children and families coming to high-quality performances since it started in 2005
- @Unicorn_Theatre – Based in London Bridge, the Unicorn Theatre is the UK’s leading professional theatre for young audiences, and has been receiving an increasing amount of praise since the appointment of Purni Morell as the Artistic Director in 2011
- @TheMontyArts – The Mongtomery is a multi-purpose venue in Sheffield city centre specializing in family & children’s programming
- @z_mcr – Z-arts in Manchester is an artistic hub for young people, providing participatory activities and productions
- @HalfMoonTheatre – Half Moon Theatre in Limehouse is a welcoming space that programmes, co-produces and supports innovative work for young people. Their Exchange for Change programme supports and develops young artists creating work for children and young people
- @theeggbath – The Egg Theatre in Bath presents a year-round programme of shows and events for young people aged 18 months to teenagers. It also works with hundreds of schools and runs the Young People’s Theatre
- @LittleATheatre – This lovely little theatre tucked away in Islington has been called ‘the Home of British Puppetry’. Providing high-quality puppetry productions for over 50 years, the atmosphere at the Little Angel Theatre is incomparable
And of course, if you’re looking for the latest reviews, news, interviews and a what’s on guide, check out…
This is just a very small selection from a huge and active online community, but it’s a great start for anyone of any age who loves theatre. Remember – good theatre for children is good theatre for everyone!
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childrenstheatrereviews.com 
Thanks for the plug!
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