World Museum, Liverpool
Five floors, free, and it covers three things small children reliably love: giant dinosaurs, an aquarium and a space gallery. The best wet-weather day within half an hour.
Liverpool Playhouse
- Cost
- Tickets per show - family shows £14 to £18.50
- Ages
- 2 to 10
- Where
- Liverpool, Merseyside
- Weather
- Works in the rain
- Booking
- Book online or call 0151 709 4776
The Playhouse is the older half of the Everyman and Playhouse pair: a listed Victorian theatre that began as a music hall, under St John's Beacon in the pedestrianised Williamson Square, with 677 seats over three levels and a small Studio upstairs. For families it is the building that matters, because every picture-book show on the company's current listings is on here rather than up the hill at the Everyman.
Next up is Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Really Big Adventure, from 27 to 31 October: an interactive hour built on Kristina Stephenson's picture book, with live music, puppets, and the author herself credited as the narrator, pitched at 3 to 10 year olds. The rest of the family run is in 2027. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show (all ages, 75 puppets) is on from 16 to 20 February, Pip and Posy (ages 2 to 7) from 31 March to 3 April, and Zog and the Flying Doctors (3 and up) from 6 to 10 April. Each runs 55 minutes to an hour, which is about as long as a three-year-old's patience.
The honest catch is the gaps. Between those runs the Playhouse is mostly comedy, drama and touring musicals for grown-ups, and this year's Christmas show, Little Shop of Horrors, is 12+. For a Christmas show with small children, the Rock 'n' Roll Panto is at the Everyman on Hope Street, a 10 to 15 minute walk uphill, so check which theatre is on your tickets. Treat this as a page to look at before each school holiday rather than somewhere to drop into.
Sister venue: Liverpool Everyman, 5-11 Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BH.
What it costs: Priced per show, and each family show page gives one price without saying whether children pay less: Sir Charlie Stinky Socks £14, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show £16, Zog and the Flying Doctors £18, Pip and Posy £18.50. Children under 18 months can go as babes in arms on a knee, but the theatre asks you to check that is offered for your performance before booking.
Know before you go
- Williamson Square is pedestrianised, so there is no drop-off at the door. The theatre suggests Queen Square car park (L1 1RH) or St Johns car park (L1 1LQ); Queen Square bus station is about two minutes' walk and Lime Street about five.
- The bars and the kiosk (sweets, ice cream) open an hour before each show. There is no daytime cafe listed here; the Street Cafe is at the Everyman on Hope Street.
- Step-free: level entrance with automatic doors, a lift to all floors and level access to stalls rows A to H. The gallery has no level-access seats, and there is one accessible toilet, on the ground floor.
- None of the four family shows listed a relaxed, BSL or captioned performance when we checked. Where the theatre does run relaxed performances they are booked by phone or at the box office, not online.
- Sir Charlie Stinky Socks uses some stage haze and has a short dragon roar, which the theatre describes as not too scary.
Worth knowing: This year's Christmas show here, Little Shop of Horrors, is rated 12+. The Christmas show for younger children is the Rock 'n' Roll Panto at the Everyman.
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