Its interesting. I've written and am rehearsing a pantomime at the moment.... there are 32 children across two casts and yesterday we told them the story.... ten or so years ago the questions would've been along the lines of 'what happens next?' and 'will the magic sword defeat the dragon?' - the questions this time were along the lines of 'why did you write it like this?' 'How long is it?' and 'is this going somewhere?' - to which the answers were 'multiple narratives allowed us more inclusive casting', 'about two hours' and 'yes, but much of the writing is front-loaded to pay off at the end'. It was a real baptism of fire by 9 year old curiosity.

I think we have a generation of kids who are used to having information upfront. My childhood was filled with gaps, to which the inevitable answer was 'magic' - that seems not to be the case with some (but not all) of the children yesterday. This is a generation of kids who look up answers rather than not know and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. There's very little space for magic and imagination. :o/