Taking first steps into theatre with ‘From here … to there’

There is a big push now among children’s theatre companies to produce shows for the youngest of children. There is a recognition that many parents bring younger siblings along to see shows that are made for slightly older children and that their younger siblings still get an enormous amount from the experience.


So, how about making a show specifically for them, and if we do, what should an early year’s show look like? If we look to our European neighbours: Denmark, Austria, France, Italy, and Belgium to name but a few, there is a wealth of experience in theatre for early years to draw upon.

When researching ‘From here … to there’, I took part in an international exchange project with La Baracca in Italy and Toihaus in Austria. It was a great learning journey, and in many ways, ‘From here …to there’ is the outcome of that journey.
Before starting we wanted to observe young children. What interests them, how do they negotiate play, how long can they sit and watch, etc… We found, like many others, that when you get the material right they can sit and watch far longer than we may think. So many times parents have come to me afterwards and said, “I’ve never seen my 2 year old sit still for so long.” So what makes the content so relevant and engaging for young children?
There are a few things that I consider to be fundamentally important and I’ve listed them below:

• Play – a playful spirit in the performers and in the creation process helps to connect immediately with very young children.

• Games – recognisable games that young children respond to intuitively ie. Peek a boo

• Visual Language - Considering carefully the props and materials used and using them in visual and imaginative ways.

• Words: Keeping spoken language to a minimum and playing with sounds & rhythms.

• Familiar rituals/routines – Building on events that are familiar to young children, ie. brushing teeth / eating / getting dressed, and then heightening the routine to make it theatrical and for it to become something else…

• Genuine emotions: young children are motivation seekers! They want to know why we do everything we do. So there is a real need for the actors to be emotionally genuine and to respond in a true way to the events in the performance.

As part of the creation process for ‘From here…to there’, we spent two weeks researching & developing the show with children from 2 – 4 years in a nursery setting. We looked specifically at the dynamics of play and how young children move from independent play and playing alongside each other to playing which involves sharing and negotiating. For a two or three year old this tends to be full of conflict and resolution - great content to put into a theatre show! It was hugely rewarding to try out some of our ideas with children and in some cases to have them show us that we had got it wrong! Making theatre for the very young is a very humbling experience!

As a company we also encourage young children to interact with our work. After the performance there is plenty of time to get hands on. We let the children play with the boxes and materials from the show so that they can build their own towers and bridges. It gives them a chance to respond instinctively to what they have seen in the best way that children know how – through play!

The show is now touring across the UK and is coming to Eureka! this weekend, so you can see for yourselves if we have got it right, or even better bring your little ones and let them see if this theatre for early years is truly for them.



This blog is written by Natasha Holmes (Artistic Director of Tell Tale Hearts)


The photos by Gavin Joynt (children from Playmates nursery, Deighton, Huddersfield)


‘From here … to there’ – was funded by Arts Council England Lottery, Lawrence Batley Theatre and the international exchange project was co-ordinated by Earlyarts






TELL TALE HEARTS are a professional children’s theatre company who are now raising the profile of theatre for Early Years Children. They have been making theatre exclusively for children since 2004. In that time the company has toured its work internationally and become established as one of the most respected companies in the UK making work for early years.






FROM HERE TO THERE is a partnership production between the Lawrence Batley Theatre and Tell Tale Hearts, it premiered at the LBT in 2010 and now is touring nationally during 2011. Tell Tale Hearts are a resident company at the Lawrence Batley Theatre.