Once again the West End is celebrating the summer holidays by offering ticket deals for families with children. The rest of the year directors of major theatres fret about how to attract younger audiences, but during Kids Week 2002 (Aug. 23-30) they won't have to worry at all, as the average age of their audiences will crash downwards.

The basic point about Kids Week is that most West End theatres offer a deal where for every full-price adult Kids Week ticket, there's a free child's ticket, and you can purchase up to two further child's tickets at half price.

Thanks to the sponsorship of Marks and Spencer, this year is bigger than ever, and there are a wide range of other activities, from backstage tours to adventurous theatre activities.

There are also Kids deals with a number of restaurants and with Hilton hotels, the official hotel partners of the Society of London Theatre. Shows involved in Kids Week 2002 include:
125th Street (Tickets for Fri, Aug. 30 only), Fame (Parental Guidance), Abba Mania, The Lion King (sold out), Antony And Cleopatra, Mamma Mia! (sold out), As You Like It, Les Misérables, Blood Brothers, My Fair Lady, Bombay Dreams (Tickets available for the evening performances on Aug 27, 28 & 29 only) Oh! What a Lovely War, Bounce, The Phantom Of The Opera, Chicago (Parental Guidance), Spot's Birthday Party, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (sold out), The Threepenny Opera, The Constant Wife (Parental Guidance), Umoja - The Spirit Of Togetherness, The Complete History Of America (Abridged) and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), We Will Rock You.

For children over the ages of 14, the following shows are also available:

Art (Parental Guidance), Stones In His Pockets (Parental Guidance), Humble Boy (Parental Guidance), Taboo(Parental Guidance), Sleuth (Parental Guidance), The Woman In Black (Parental Guidance).

There will be a wide variety of events linked to the theme of Kids Week, including a Pop-Idol-style talent show on SMTV, the prize for which will be appearing onstage in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

—By Paul Webb Theatrenow