Children's Theatre

Children's Theatre, performances given by adults for young people. The international organization for children's theatre is ASSITEJ (Association Internationale du Théâtre pour l'Enfance et la Jeunesse), based in Paris, with members in almost 40 countries. Scandinavian countries were early in the field, and Sweden is especially active. France made a good start with Léon Chancerel's Théâtre de l'Oncle Sebastien, 1935–9, and now has a number of children's theatres such as the Théâtre des Jeunes Années in Lyons and the Théâtre du Gros Caillou in Caen. Children's theatre also flourishes in Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany, where the Gripstheater in West Berlin is outstanding, and where, as in most countries where the theatre is heavily subsidized, young people are able to buy tickets for normal theatre-going very cheaply.

In Britain there have been many attempts to found a permanent children's theatre, but lacking sufficient funds they have usually ended with the retirement or death of the founder. Among them were Bertha Waddell's Scottish Children's Theatre, founded in 1927, which survived until 1968; Jean Sterling Mackinlay's afternoon seasons for six weeks over Christmas from 1914 to 1939; and the English School Theatre (partly educational), which was founded in 1936 but had to be disbanded during the Second World War. Still in existence is the Unicorn Theatre for Children, permanently established at the Arts Theatre, London, since 1967, but originating as a touring group for both adults and children founded in 1947 by Caryl Jenner (1917–73), who ran the project until her death. Others are the Theatre Centre (formerly the London Children's Theatre), founded in 1954, which tours schools; the Little Angel Marionette Theatre in Islington, founded in 1961; and the Polka Children's Theatre in Wimbledon, founded in 1979. Both the National Youth Theatre and the Young Vic do excellent work, and many regional theatres run Theatre in Education schemes. The national association for children's theatre is NADECT (National Association for Drama in Education and Children's Theatre, formerly the British Children's Theatre Association), founded in 1959; the Young Theatre Association is concerned with amateur children's theatre.

Children's theatre in the USA receives—as in Britain—very little subsidy and has depended heavily on individuals such as the late Charlotte Chorpenning, who headed the Goodman Children's Theatre in Chicago for 21 years. Children's companies include the King-Coit school and theatre in New York; the Honolulu (Hawaii) Theatre for Youth founded in 1955; the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis (1961); and the Creative Arts Team (1974), an association of several companies affiliated with but separate from New York University. In 1976, the Empire State Institute for the Performing Arts (ERISA) was founded in Albany, New York, as the only state-authorized children's theatre in the USA. Many of the regional theatres, like their British counterparts, work in collaboration with the schools. Children's theatre thrives also in Canada.

In the former Communist countries children's companies—such as, in the Soviet Union, the Central Children's Theatre (founded in 1921) and the Moscow Theatre of the Young Spectator (1929)—are heavily subsidized, often having their own theatres and touring organizations, the actors being specially trained for their work. There are about 60 professional theatres for young people in the Soviet Union. Other former Communist countries active in children's theatre include Czechoslovakia and East Germany, where the Theater der Freundschaft in East Berlin is especially notable.