Charlie Chuck's Chuckasaurus Show

Charlie Chuck's Chuckasaurus Show

I never expected not to ‘get’ a children’s show. 

soulspace

soulspace

Even just turning off Princes Street into the graveyard of St Cuthbert’s Parish Church is peaceful. 

Sparkling Granny

Sparkling Granny

For a brief time in my life, I helped primary school children improve their reading. 

Back from the Future

Back from the Future

Fans of Marty and Doc beware; the similar title should not make you think that this has any link to the classic sci-fi movies. 

Grim Tales from the Brothers Grimm

Grim Tales from the Brothers Grimm

In an appropriately darkened room we listened as the wonderfully eccentric Viktor Wynd, multidisciplinary artist and wearer of green-and-yellow-checked suits, regaled us with suita… 

Funny Stuff for Happy People

Funny Stuff for Happy People

Wearing a kilt, a red stripy top and a pair of gold earrings, the bearded Martin ‘Bigpig’ Mor somehow made me think of a Scottish pirate in a children’s storybook. 

The End Is Nigh!

The End Is Nigh!

Hendrick’s Carnival of Knowledge presents itself as a place of knowledge and relaxation, of playfulness and learning. 

James Campbell's Comedy 4 Kids

James Campbell's Comedy 4 Kids

Watching James Campbell launch into his family friendly stand-up routine makes one wonder why there are not more stand-ups for children around. 

Robbie the Robot Learns English - And Saves the Day!

Robbie the Robot Learns English - And Saves the Day!

Just because a show is intended for children is no excuse for bad acting. 

Lissa and NeeNee's Riverside Adventure

Lissa and NeeNee's Riverside Adventure

They say to never work with children. 

A Mysterical, Disneycal Choose Your Own Adventure

A Mysterical, Disneycal Choose Your Own Adventure

Sadly, this Disney inspired show is lighter and emptier than even Snow White’s mind. 

Scatterbrained

Scatterbrained

In their fantastic, feast-for-the-eyes costumes – including brightly coloured converses and Oompa Loompa style facepaint – Dolphin School Theatre Company put together a very ph… 

The Curious Case of the Ugglie Wump and Other Mysterious Monsters

The Curious Case of the Ugglie Wump and Other Mysterious Monsters

Upon entering this show, one was first struck by the grey and white cut-out set which looked like illustrations from a Dr Seuss book that’s gone over to the dark side. 

A Boy Who Cried Wolf

A Boy Who Cried Wolf

Ren is performing before the show begins, making up a silly version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with the audience’s help. 

The Very Scariesome Lollipop Lady

The Very Scariesome Lollipop Lady

Martha McBrier manages to get a lot of mileage from a story which highlights the importance of road safety. 

The Firebird

The Firebird

An hour and a half sounds like a long time to keep a group of children entertained for. 

YurtaKids! A Story of a Man and His Shadow

YurtaKids! A Story of a Man and His Shadow

One imagines that the members of the Principio Attivo Teatro are absolutely lethal at charades. 

Yurtakids! Presents Cinderella

Yurtakids! Presents Cinderella

This is Cinderella, but not as you know it. 

Brave Macbeth

Brave Macbeth

This is Macbeth the musical as though it has been rewritten by a Monty Python fan and acted by a drama group, with och-aye accents and just a touch of camp; altogether it makes for… 

Titus

Titus

After challenging the fourth wall in the beginning, Joseph Arkley, in the eponymous role, stood with his two feet firmly planted on the edge of a desk, not moving until the closing… 

Huggers - Free Festival

Huggers - Free Festival

This show is something of a smorgasbord of family entertainment. 

Lapin Wants Breakfast

Lapin Wants Breakfast

I confess that I was not particularly looking forward to this show, struggling to imagine how, as the Fringe guide put it, a show ‘dotted with carefully repeated French keywords�… 

A Very, Very, Very Sleepy Princess

A Very, Very, Very Sleepy Princess

While Sleeping Beauty and the entire kingdom was asleep who did the dusting for all those hundreds of years? What would happen if the wrong person had kissed her? These are the sor… 

Something in My Shoe

Something in My Shoe

Those who rushed in to Ian Saville’s magic show just before starting were in danger of thinking that the performance had already begun. 

War of the Worms

War of the Worms

Don’t let the title of this show suggest to you giant worms or even aliens battling it out; here is war in its loosest sense. 

The Takeaway Story Show

The Takeaway Story Show

‘I knew we should have booked a longer time slot,’ said one of the actors as another struggled to make it offstage while pretending to be a beached shark. 

Help! My Supply Teacher is Magic

Help! My Supply Teacher is Magic

This show is based on the popular CBBC series of the same name, in which magicians go into schools in disguise and pretend to be supply teachers, amazing the pupils in the process. 

The Maharajah and the Kohinoor

The Maharajah and the Kohinoor

The Kohinoor diamond is notoriously supposed to carry a curse which falls on all male owners of the stone. 

Zigzag Zit-faced Zombies and the Giant Geriatric Generator

Zigzag Zit-faced Zombies and the Giant Geriatric Generator

There’s no denying that children enjoy silly sounds. 

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most youth-filled of all Shakespeare’s plays, with the star-crossed teen lovers and their idealistic yet doomed belief than young love can conquer… 

Bec & Tom's Awesome Laundry

Bec & Tom's Awesome Laundry

If all children’s shows were this good we would all be going to see them with or without children. 

Storytime!

Storytime!

Storytime! felt less like a finely honed performance and more like an Apprentice challenge: in two days come up with a way of entertaining a group of five year olds for an hour. 

The Big Bite-Size Play Factory's Family Creatures

The Big Bite-Size Play Factory's Family Creatures

The Big Bite-Size Play Factory’s Family Creatures may seem an impenetrable sort of name but early into watching this show it became apparent that this was a sketch show intended … 

The Just So Stories

The Just So Stories

With only four simply dressed actresses and a range of household objects, Red Table Theatre act out four of Kipling’s tales from The Just So Stories, sticking very closely to his… 

The Amazing Bubble Man

The Amazing Bubble Man

When I worked at C venues, the Bubble Man had an almost legendary status: he was a guaranteed sell-out every year.