Taking my kids to see School Of Rock at the theatre has been one of my greatest pleasures. Before I had them, I was an aspiring actress, picking up bit parts here and there and it was the happiest of times. Who knows if one day I will go back to it but for now, watching theatre gives me enough of a thrill.

Harry totally gets it, he has my acting bug and has a great wee stage presence.

I’ve always loved watching musical theatre. From to obsessing over them as a child and listening to the scores on CD around the house to the early days when we moved to London, watching and re-watching Taboo – now there was a show –  these days, I love, love, love to take my kids with me.

We are lucky enough to live near a fabulous theatre in Milton Keynes, home to many world -renowned stage sensations and I go regularly, taking friends or family.

London as we all know is where it’s at for most things though and the West End offerings are no exception.

For the longest time, I’d herd rave reviews from my friends who had been to see School Of Rock and although the idea of it never really held any appeal for me, I thought the kids would maybe enjoy it. Pretty much the understatement of the century!

We were lucky enough to be given press tickets and went to see a School of Rock Sunday matinee and made a day of it, sauntering around Covent Garden and spending a fab day lunching at our fave family-run Italian, Pasta Browns, headed for pudding at SNOG and finally nabbing theatre treats eagerly purchased at the fabulous find, ??? where we were all literally, kids in a sweet shop.

The Gillian Lynne Theatre was swarming with over excited kiddos as we got there, the buzz was contagious and the kids were beyond ready to rock

Maybe it’s because I’m really not a fan of rock music I was completely not expecting to enjoy it, we truly went for the kids enjoyment.

Let’s cut to the chase – within ten opening minutes we were as immersed as they were, watching Stephen Leask’s Dewey (now played by Craig Gallivan) command the stage sweating and bounding all over his set, putting his stamp on songs we’d never heard before but would from hereon in become part of our family repertoire.

I don’t want to give you any spoilers, but most people know the general outline of the plot.

Rubbish teacher wannabe fudges his way into a fancy schmancy school of high expectation, charms the kids, leads them into musical rebellion that releases their inner mini rock gods and the rest is history.

Feel good at its best with a smattering of songs which will punctuate the memories, we thought it rocked to it’s core!

When I could tear my eyes away from the explosion of energy on the stage, I could see the kids faces alive with the passion I feel for musical theatre and it felt great.

I guess a major factor in the affinity they felt with the experience was the boundless energy of the child actors who were outstanding. I always marvel at kids working in theatre, how do they have the stamina? But the stage door showed afterwards, these little stars have performers written all over them and they love it.

I cannot recommend this show highly enough. Yes, I know taking kids to the theatre is well pricey but it’s something worth investing in when it creates a memory like this.

With a long cold winter ahead, I cannot think of a better gift idea for a family afternoon or evening out to remember.

Keep rocking guys and stick it to the band!

*Disclaimer: We were given press tickets to watch this show so we could let you know our honest opinion of it – this was clearly stated in bold in the text but I thought I’d better make it even clearer so no one is confused.*