I’ve spoken before about the wonderful Polka Children’s Theatre in Wimbledon – a place which has existed for many moons and brought happiness to many children (myself included!). My mum and dad have always been big theatre goers and my mum is very happy to organise trips for my boys (well, just JJ so far – the Polka do ‘baby-friendly’ shows too but it is nice to save the experience until they are old enough to both enjoy and remember the day!). I also have a love of theatre and I think these special trips as a child helped to instil that in me.
This weekend Mum had booked tickets for JJ to see the Polka’s updated version of Little Red Riding Hood. When asked if he wanted to watch it with Mummy or Grandma, he chose Grandma – which is only right as she planned and organised the whole thing!
The beautiful thing about the the Polka is that the foyer and outside space are a wonderful place to take a small child even without a theatre booking so myself and EJ came along for the ride. Wimbledon is about 20 minutes away from my parents’ house by train which adds all the more to the experience as JJ adores trains and train journeys!
Fortunately the show itself was only 50 minutes long and it was a dry, occasionally sunny day, so EJ wanted to spend lots of time playing about in the outdoor playzone. There is a ball run which kept him entertained for a long time (between bouts of dunking one of the balls in the little fountain or running joyously down and through the big wooden dragon there).
Indoors there are several rocking horses, a book corner, a colouring corner and a dressing up corner, as well as a lovely cafe where the seating booths masquerade as the carriages of a train. Look up and you can see the back end of a recently launched rocket above your head, or take a walk down the corridor under a sea of paper birds and twinkly white and purple fairy lights.
I rarely get to spend such a consistent period of time alone playing with EJ so this was a wonderful opportunity and a really magic moment.
Linking up to Magic Moments at The Oliver’s Madhouse.
And then the fun began... 
This looks so much fun. Wish we had something like this nearby 🙂 Your little one is such a cutie! #MagicMoments.
Ah, thanks Dean. He is pretty cute but just coming into the terrible twos a bit earlier than expected I think!
What a brilliant place to have right on your doorstep #magicmoments
Unfortunately its not right on my doorstep but for special treats from Grandma’s its perfect!
This looks brilliant! Boy1 loved his first theatre experience but it’s rare to find things suitable for under 2s. Maybe we can take him here tho, it looks lovely!! 🙂 #magicmoments
Ooh yes, you must go if you are close enough! The tickets aren’t the cheapest but its great for a special treat! (and of course if you’re just going to play like I did with EJ then its free!).
This looks so brilliant. We’ve yet to take our two to the theatre, as I know Little Man wouldn’t stay still! Your littlest is totally adorable 🙂
Aw thanks! I always think to myself “I love Little Man” after seeing your pictures of him too – just too cute the pair of them! No, EJ wouldn’t stay still either and even now I’m loathe to take JJ to the cinema at 4 and a half because he’s never sat through a film in his life so far – never had the concentration and just wants to run around!
This looks like such a lovely place to visit and its nice that its somewhere that you went to too.
thanks for linking up with #MagicMoments x
Its really lovely isn’t it? I went there with my nieces a couple of times too when they were little (13 & 15 now!). Always a pleasure.
Looks like a perfect place to visit with children
It is Fiona! Bit of culture, bit of a play…and a cafe!
That looks like a wonderful place, and I love the photos of EJ running around!
It is a fab place Sara! EJ had a blast. X