Celebrating theatre for children – why it can be good for us all
Like many in the children’s theatre sector, we’ve been working for some time to achieve more for our children and families; locally, and as part of our national sector. Work for children in the arts is not always given the recognition it deserves, and as Theatre Porto enters our fourth year as a new venue, we were pleased to be recognised with two major accolades in June 2025.
The RTPI Northwest Awards honoured Theatre Porto, with the award for Excellence in Planning for Heritage and Culture and we were also named overall Best Project in the Region, against much bigger competition. The judges praised the vision of the capital project funded by Cheshire West and Chester Council, and Arts Council England, which redeveloped the historic building, Whitby Hall, and transformed it into a purpose-built theatre and unique cultural space for children and families.
That same month, Theatre Porto became the UK’s first dedicated children theatre to be recognised as a Theatre of Sanctuary by City of Sanctuary UK, based on our commitment and track record in refugee focused work, at a time when the issue is increasingly important.
We think it’s an important moment to celebrate what specialist theatres like ours, contribute to the arts and our communities, not least given The State of Us report (British Future, July 2025) which presents clear evidence that the bonds holding society together – civic participation and a shared sense of belonging – are under increasing strain.
The report warns that this erosion is leaving the UK more fragmented, fragile, and less resilient, and open to increasing threats. We believe that the work of organisations like ours – arts led but understanding ‘community need’, is the way forward.
Our story
The transformation of Whitby Hall in 2022 – was born from a vision we still hold, that we can position an inspiring theatre at the heart of our town, and build a community around children.
At the time leading up to the capital work things were critical, several rooms couldn’t be used because the roof was leaking, and some parts of the building were not safe. The job isn’t finished; the work to achieve funding that meets our needs, as a small specialist theatre and as a public-facing venue, gets increasingly challenging.
Critically, the new venue was seen as an opportunity for the company (then Action Transport Theatre), as an Non-Profit Organization to strengthen its position locally, raise its profile and embed resilience, whilst providing ‘forgotten about’ Ellesmere Port with a much-needed cultural asset. We were lucky that Cheshire West and Chester Council leadership shared our vision, and despite being in a challenging economic climate, invested in the idea.
We wanted a building that matched our artistic ambition; at best, our work has been described as world-class, our recent work received multiple 5-star reviews, for its ‘joyful child-centeredness’.
We are driven by best practice and having a new fit-for-purpose building had been in our planning for many years. It wasn’t until the consultation work for Storyhouse in Chester – a much bigger regional venue, was underway that wheels were put in motion. It started with a snatched conversation with the architectural firm and a quick tour of Whitby Hall, and things grew from there.
In this new era, we are constantly asking questions about our new home; what is particular to this space/room/outdoor area? What can we do here? How can our creative, child-centered values be embedded in the fabric of our building and inspire everyone who comes here.
The venue has its own identity and strong capacity to bring smiles to the faces of everybody that comes through our doors. It’s a simple idea – curate a beautiful, cared-for space for people to gather, which feels person-centered and welcoming, and create a big impact.
The theatre venue is a space for community, and it has resurfaced the discussion about why we need cultural buildings, and how they can be as important as the artists that run them.
The decline in civic spaces, the current economic and social challenges we face, have resulted in division and fragmented communities making spaces like ours hugely important, at the centre of it all, are children and young people – who need spaces which are theirs and art that is made especially for them.
Importantly, the space we provide for people to come together is based on shared experiences for children and adults. It is central to our mission and is a marker for ‘quality’, because children belong to families, and families belong to communities.
It also assumes that tapping into your inner child as an adult is good for you. As has been said, ‘the building isn’t for everyone, you need to be a child or young person to be welcomed here… OR, you need to have been one’.
That’s our invitation, and if followed through we believe that ‘remembering the qualities of childhood’ can have a profound impact on society in general. If we can remember what it is like to be open, curious, compassionate, and to be present in the now, we can remember who we are.
Big Kids is an idea that is brewing; a new project which invites parents to come and play for their own enrichment and enjoyment, inviting them to remember what it feels like to be present in a space, to connect with others and tap into joy. To see what happens when you ask a grown-up if they remember their favorite game as a child, and how it made them feel… a similar project pairs artists and teachers, encouraging a creative impulse that has nothing to do with teaching curriculum.
Collaboration and partnership
Our connection to schools continues to deepen as we position ourselves as partners in learning and long-term collaborators.
We’re celebrating 21 schools (out of 28) in Ellesmere being on their Artsmark journey and the creation of a Cultural Learning Exchange regularly brings us together with teachers to talk and listen.
Ellesmere Port is also home to C-Change, the NW Creativity Collaborative, one of 8 national programmes in Cultural education funded by Arts Council England which has made lots of good work possible.
If schools are places children and young people are, we need to think carefully about how we connect and collaborate. We are still proud that our touring production Adrift, was co-produced and co-created with St. Bernard’s Primary School and that one of our best loved shows STATIK was based on the creative work from 8 local schools and celebrates the ‘wisdom of children’. We are planning its remount as a piece of theatre.
We have adopted the mantra ‘inclusivity starts with childhood’ which underpins our artistic and strategic approach to partnerships which is cross-sector. Most children instinctively understand fairness, they ask honest questions, imagine better futures and remind us why being included matters. We connect with other arts companies, local organisations, youth and community services, and voluntary groups to understand what local need is and to further an inclusive agenda more widely, taking us back to the idea of creating a community around the child, which celebrates everybody.
Summary
The two awards we received in 2025 are milestones celebrated by us and markers of what is possible when you design culture around children and young people. As we look ahead, our mission is clear – to keep deepening our work, which requires understanding the world we currently live in, and finding ways to weave theatre and artistic experiences into the lives of children, families, and communities.
Ultimately, at the centre of what we do is theatre making – theatre in its broadest sense, which is sometimes intimate and small, non-verbal, poetic, interactive, celebratory… it’s the beating heart from which everything else is borne, based on experiences that let us go deep, seeking ways to create a broader ripple of impact
The assumption might be that given social need, ‘the art’ isn’t as important anymore or that somehow social impact sits separately from artistic practice, but the opposite is true.
We talk about ‘merging the playful and the political’ – because the world of children is both things and these qualities are often present in great art for children.
Our society is in crisis – and the arts unfortunately is sometimes sitting apolitically in spheres which talk about tourism and economy on the one hand and diversity on the other, without digging into the real business of understanding what people’s experiences, fears and hopes are at a time of entrenched inequality, across so many areas.
Theatre Porto will continue to do our bit and hold on to our belief that theatre, centred on children and young people, and the values of childhood, really can change the world.
If you’d like to run this article please or for media enquiries, please contact:
Sam Hutchinson (he/him)
Communications Manager – Part-Time
www.TheatrePorto.org | sam@TheatrePorto.org | 0151 357 2120
Theatre Porto (formerly Action Transport Theatre) creates original, imaginative theatre, ‘for, by and with’ children and young people from our base in Ellesmere Port…
Theatre Porto, Whitby Park, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH65 6QY
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