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.
