Mama bear on the stage.

I love the theatre. I have since being a child. I remember my dad used to take me to see shows at the royal exchange in Manchester and my love grew from there. When the house lights went down and the stage lights came up my tummy used to flip with excitement. It was so much better than cinema or television because it was real, you were part of what was happening and they are some of the dearest memories I hold.


It didn't matter what kind of show it was, I loved them all. Pantomimes, musicals, plays. They all gave me that same feeling of amazement and wonder. They were an education. They got me intrested in subjects I'd never even heard of.

I became obsessed with not only watching performances but also performing. I joined theatre groups and community theatre projects where I became confident and outgoing. I developed both my imagination and social skills all while having fun. Theatre has played a huge part in shaping the person I am today.

For all of those reasons I want my children to experience theatre from a young age. I learnt so much from watching those people up on the stage, about both the world and myself, I want my boys to have the opportunity to gain that knowledge to.

They have attended two children's performances so far the 'sooty show', which was amazing and held both of their interests from start to finish and 'in the night garden' which did the same.

This year I was so pleased when I discovered the lowry theatre was showing a stage show of two of our favourite books. 'Room on the Broom' and 'The Tiger who came to tea'. I showed the boys the poster and watched them squeal with excitement. So we headed to the theatre to get some more information.

The tickets were priced at £16 for myself and hubby which seemed quite reasonable. As Mr S and Mr B are so young, (1 and 2), I knew they wouldn't really need seats as they would want to sit on our knees. I put this request to the gentlemen in the box office who informed me this was not possible.  From 18 months they would have to have their own seat. I knew they wouldn't use it but it would be fine, it could just sit empty. I asked how much a child's ticket was, I was horrified to find out there is no such thing. The ticket price is the same. £16 each for a 1 and 2 year old is shocking. Surely there should be some sort of price bracket for toddlers. This would mean it would have cost me £64 for our tickets.

The man clearly saw my shock at this price so tried to offer me a 'better option'. A £54 family ticket. I'm sure you can imagine I was still unimpressed.

How are family's supposed to introduce their children to a world of performing arts and culture when these are the standard prices. How can you justify charging this amount for a toddler. You may not agree with me on this one but this just seems to be greed. Surely there should be a pricing structure which takes toddlers into account.

I know things like theatre trips are not a necessity in life but I do think they are important. They play a part in a child's love of books, the arts and reading while getting them away from a screen.

Good day to you.