Theatre lures kids off mobiles, TV

Children in Britain are turning off their mobile phones, TVs and computers and tuning in to the low-tech joy of theatre.

Children across Britain are turning off their mobile phones, TVs and computers and tuning in to the low-tech joy of theatre, getting their fix of live drama in places designed especially for them.

Dismissed by some as a middle-class luxury, fans say theatre is as vital as food and fresh air in creating healthy, happy children.

And a string of new venues designed with young theatre buffs in mind suggest they are winning the argument. Britain has only recently acquired purpose-built, architecturally ambitious children's theatres.

The Unicorn, on London's South Bank, has won rave reviews since it was opened by Richard Attenborough. Everything is at child-height, from the stair rails to the basins in the washrooms. An education studio is also there.

Thirty eight-year-olds worked with the designers during its construction, but a suggestion that the floors be made of chocolate was turned down.

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