Bus journeys, sandwiches and play: young children and the theatre event

ABSTRACT

Theatre for Early Years (TEY) audiences is a relatively new and growing area of practice. This article arises from empirical research with a group of children aged three and four, who made repeat visits to watch TEY performances at Polka Theatre in London. Drawing on literature from education studies, theatre studies and cultural geography, this article explores the pedagogy of TEY beyond the performance in isolation. By reflecting on our journeys to and activities at the theatre, I propose a contextually embedded understanding of the wider TEY event, as well as some of the ways that researchers and educators might seek to better comprehend or enhance this.

KEYWORDS:

• Theatre for Early Years Audiences
• children
• learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Emma Miles lectures in education at Anglia Ruskin University and works part-time as the Learning Manager at Sir John Soane’s Museum. Her Reid Scholarship funded PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London was entitled Theatre for Early Years Audiences at Polka Theatre: Performance, Reception and Pedagogy. Emma previously worked as an infant-school class teacher.

Notes

1 To respect the children’s active involvement in this research, it was agreed as part of the ethics approval that their first names would be used. This received the full agreement of their parents and teachers.