DINOSAUR WORLD LIVE REVIEW

Last week we were really lucky to be invited along to our local theatre, to review the Dinosaur World Live show. As visiting some shows with Noah was on our 'before school' bucket list, and we'd read up the glowing reviews on Dinosaur World, we knew we had to go, it would have been silly not to. I was a little apprehensive before hand, we'd never taken Noah to the theatre so I didn't want to be disappointed if he wouldn't sit still or lost interest. As Dinosaur world live is set for children age 3+, again I wasn't too sure if he'd be still on the younger side, making it a bit too advanced for him as he is only four. I was wrong, thankfully, and we had a superb time. On the car journey home Noah was already asking if he can go again tomorrow. (do not be fooled by the above picture, we waited till everyone left to take it and the theatre was actually ram packed)



When we arrived I was initially really pleased to see there wasn't stall after stall of merchandise, I think it'll be a lot of parents relief, especially if they have more than one child as things can definitely add up fast. There was however a small stall at the back of the foyer with programmes, dinosaur puppets and dinosaur eggs to take and hatch at home, we grabbed one of those eggs and a programme, I know Noah's going to delight in hatching our egg, especially now we've seen the show. We headed on into the auditorium and noticed immediately they had a green mist around the room, this little touch truly set the scene and I really began to feel excited myself, it felt like we'd entered into a Jurassic world and when Noah held my hand, I knew he was feeling it too.

As the show began, on walked Miranda, a seriously cool explorer who made any children that may have felt a bit apprehensive, at ease. She was funny, excitable and fantastic, teaching us little pieces about the Dinosaurs whilst making it fun at the same time. First up, she spoke about the Segnosaurus, a Dinosaur I'll be honest, I'd never heard of, within a few moments he was on stage, and we were hearing everything from where he lives to what he eats. She then began selecting volunteers from the audience to 'feed' the Dinosaur, and judging by the show of hands that went up - the children were in awe. Even Noah, who's more timid and shy than most, was eager to get up close and personal with the Segnosaurus.

Throughout the show different children would arrive on stage to partake in different tasks, each praised highly for their efforts and the audience were encouraged to applaud them, fantastic. The show set the scene well throughout, each dinosaur spent a short amount of time on the stage, but just enough so that it didn't becoming tedious or samey. Our personal favourite was Titus, the Tyrannosaurus Rex - he was ginormous and even I (knowing what to expect) was taken aback by just how marvellous he was puppeteer-ed. It really was the Dinosaur that stole the show, with his head thrashing out above the first few rows of audience, for me that was the moment the show really came to life. Dinosaur World was incredibly interactive, the audience were encouraged to shout out on given cues, look out for actions and you were able to take any photos you wished throughout the performance.

To end the show Miranda promised that whilst not everyone got to appear on stage, you could all meet the Dinosaurs if you wished in the foyer after the show. This for me was great, because for a lot of children standing on a stage alone would be quite daunting, but giving them a stroke in the entrance area with their parents by their side was a much easier task. The Dinosaurs didn't delay, there wasn't a long wait, or ridiculous queues, and everyone who stayed to see them got to do exactly that. We were truly impressed by Dinosaur World live, it lived up to and beyond our expectations, we shall definitely be going back next year if it appears at our local theatre.