Numerous London theatres put on kids' shows at the weekend - for full listings, see Time Out - but there are one or two venues that are almost entirely child-centered. Ticket prices hover around the £5 mark for children and adults alike, unless the show is at a West End theatre, in which case you're looking at more like £15 and upwards.

Little Angel Theatre
14 Dagmar Passage, off Cross St, N1 phone 020/7226 1787. Tube: Angel or Highbury & Islington.

London's only permanent puppet theatre, with shows on Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 3pm; the mornings are for three- to six-year-olds, the afternoons for older kids. Additional shows during the holidays and occasionally in the evenings.

Polka Theatre
240 The Broadway, SW19 phone 020/8543 4888; www.polkatheatre.com. Tube: Wimbledon or South Wimbledon.

A specially designed junior arts centre aimed at kids aged up to around twelve, with two theatres, a playground, a café and a toy shop. Storytellers, puppeteers and mimes make regular appearances.

Puppet Theatre Barge
Little Venice, Blomfield Rd, W9 phone 020/7249 6876 or 0836/202745; www.movingstage.co.uk. Tube: Warwick Avenue.

Wonderfully imaginative marionette shows on a fifty-seater barge moored in Little Venice from November to May, then at various points along the Thames (including Richmond). Shows usually start at 3pm at weekends and in the holidays.

Unicorn Theatre
Phone 020/7700 0702; www.unicorntheatre.com.

The Unicorn is the oldest professional children's theatre in London, and is currently performing in several venues across the capital, including the Pleasance Theatre, off the Caledonian Road, N1. Shows run the gamut from mime and puppetry to traditional plays

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