Review: Learning about friendship with Seesaw at Unicorn Theatre

‘No, mummy. I don’t want to go home’

I was carrying Baby Girl out of the Unicorn Theatre in London on Saturday and she was not happy to leave. I thought a 40-minute performance would be ideal for a 2-year-old, but mine seemed to be up for staying in the theatre for hours.

We had been invited to see Seesaw, a new show for ages 2 and over, and Baby Girl had been extremely enthusiastic about the event. During the performance, she had been cheering, laughing and clapping on and off and making other parents turn and smile at Daddy T and me.

The story clearly got to her though. The stage was one big sand pit with a seesaw, and there was one male and one female actor dressed up as children. The girl and the boy wrote in the sand, built sand castles and played on the seesaw. At first, they weren’t being nice to each other and didn’t share or go on the seesaw together. As seasons passed and they kept meeting each other in the sandpit, they became friends and were kind to each other, making it possible to play properly on the two-person seesaw.

I think the story about friendship and sharing is easy to relate to for preschoolers, and the language was witty for the target audience, including phrases such as ‘need to go toilet’.

It is always impossible to know how children will react to a theatre performance, and some will find it hysterical like Baby Girl did when we went to see this show, while others might not be in the mood for this type of entertainment at the time parents have booked tickets for.

The great thing about Seesaw, however, is that the experience felt quite varied. At the end, everyone was invited up on stage to play in the super fine sand, which was a big hit with young theatre-goers, and on the way out, children were handed colour-in sheets, so many families sat back down on the tables in the hall to let their little ones draw too.

A unique and creative day out for young children!

Seesaw is playing at the Unicorn Theatre until 2 November 2014

Tags: Activities for children, Attractions, Children's theatre, London, Preschoolers, Review, Seesaw, Toddlers, Unicorn Theatre