Young children seeing less theatre than ever before

7 November 2014

(Photo credit: The Stage website - Pavel L Photo and Video)

Young children seeing less theatre than ever before

Only a third (32%) of five to 10 year-olds have participated in theatre and drama activities within the past year, a drop from half (47%) in 2008/09, when government records began. The gender gap in children’s theatre participation is also “significant”, and remains largely unchanged, according to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s annual Taking Part report. Read more

Arts reach almost all children, report finds

Almost all children aged 5 to 15 (99%) engaged with the arts last year, with 92% having engaged in the last week – a significant increase on the 2008/09 figure of 86%. According to the Taking Part 2013/14 Annual Child Report, published by the DCMS, more than two-thirds (68%) had visited a heritage site in the past 12 months, a significant increase on the 2008/9 figure. But only 62% had visited a museum or gallery, showing no increase over the past five years. Read more

Boris Johnson warns against London arts cuts

London Mayor Boris Johnson has warned against cutting the capital's arts funding after a group of MPs asked Arts Council England to shift some spending from London to the regions. Read more

RnB star Jay Sean returns to his roots in West London

On Tuesday the singer returned to where his music dreams first began - Latymer Upper School in west London - to help inspire others. See more

‘Scrapping GCSE drama from the curriculum would be madness’

The idea that taking drama off the syllabus will somehow strengthen its worth in schools is barmy, says Thomas Hescott. Read more

IdeasTap Inspires

- BBC Writersroom: want to write for stage, screen or radio? IdeasTap and BBC Writersroom are offering 40 aspiring writers aged 18+ the chance to attend a practical scriptwriting workshop. The session will be led by BBC Writersroom Development Executive Henry R Swindell and will take place in London on Wednesday 17 December. Read more

- The Television Actors Workshop: IdeasTap has teamed up with Ian Smith, director of the Television Workshop, to offer free masterclasses to 400 aspiring actors across the country. Masterclasses will take place in Bristol, Brighton, Coventry, London, Leeds, Newcastle, Norwich and Liverpool. Attendees can expect to explore a mix of games, exercises, improve and script. Read more

God Bless the Child

If you are interested in how best to educate & inspire young people, don’t miss Molly Davies’ new play God Bless The Child at the Royal Court from 12 November. More details

11-18yrs: Off the Wall!

Aged 11 - 18? Join Dulwich Picture Gallery tomorrow for a free creative session led by young people. Challenge perceptions of what galleries and museums are and explore universal themes of power, inequality, love, beauty and war featured in the collection. Read more

Introducing #LoveTheatre day

On 19 November 2014, theatres from across the UK and beyond will take part in the very first #LoveTheatre day on Twitter. Get involved!