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MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT 2: Children's Theatre

Many of us look forward to a trip to the theatre, especially during the holiday season. But have you ever stopped to think about the actual theatre building? A group of eight-year-olds from London, UK, had to do just that when they helped to design the UK’s first purpose-built children’s theatre. The Unicorn Theatre opened its doors on Thursday, December 1, 2005, and included a huge model unicorn in the theatre.

Thirty kids assisted architect Keith Williams by acting as ‘design consultants.’ They helped to choose one of the artists involved in the project, as well as created their own artwork, stories and poems about the theatre. One child even asked if the floor could be made of chocolate!

The result of this collaboration is an award-winning building which is pervaded by children’s perceptions of what theatre means to them. It consists of two auditoriums, a rehearsal studio and an educational studio. The Artistic Director of the Unicorn Theatre, Tony Graham, was full of praise for the kids’ input. He explained in a statement, ‘We were able to harness their energy and sense of wonder through dialogue and creative activities that linked in with school work and directly helped us in forming designs for the new Unicorn Theatre.’

It is hoped that 100,000 children will be entertained each year at the theatre.

Children’s theatre is popular all over the world; many children’s theatre companies perform regularly throughout America, Europe, Japan and Australia. By involving young people all the way through the design process, the organizers of the Unicorn Theatre project hope that it will serve as an example of the design lessons kids can teach adults.

--Written by Kate Day

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