Georgina Crawshaw and her son enjoy an afternoon performance of prehistoric proportions!
It’s not every day you get to tickle a Triceratops or take a Tyrannosaurus Rex for a walk. So when I heard the award-winning Dinosaur World Live was returning to the Theatre Royal Bath this weekend, I couldn’t wait to get my claws on some tickets.
Our host for the show is a charismatic young adventurer called Miranda, complete with combats, plaits and plenty of energy. She explains how she grew up surrounded by (what appear to be predominantly friendly) dinosaurs after being washed up on a far-away island with her parents and a team of palaeontologists. Cue 50 minutes of cute encounters with her pre-historic pals.
The first Jurassic sidekick to take the stage is Juliet the Segnosaurus. Miranda is quick to point out her mischievous, furry friend is a herbivore, so there’s no shortage of hands when she asks for a volunteer to help the picky eater gobble up her greens! In fact, audience participation is a big part of the show and there’s an almost pantomime feel to the proceedings as we’re encouraged to do everything from roar to wave our arms in the air and, most importantly, alert Miranda to the giant wobbling Giraffatitan egg which might hatch at any minute.
Juliet is closely followed by Orlando, a beautiful blue Microraptor with two sets of wings which swoops in and starts pecking Miranda for treats. Next it’s Bea the baby Triceratops, who is so sleepy we all have to stomp our feet to wake her (oops – it looks like we disturbed Brutus too!)
Finally we’re introduced to the stars of the show – Tamora the T-rex and her big brother Titus, who towers over Miranda with a thunderous roar, thrashing his tail and flashing a very dangerous looking set of teeth. Miranda quickly jumps into the audience to protect us and safely steers Titus backstage (spoiler alert – none of the audience were harmed during today’s show!).
The smoke, lighting and sound effects are spot on, but what really brings this production to life are the puppeteers. Not only are the dinosaurs remarkably realistic, but it’s phenomenal how much personality the dino wranglers can express with a simple swish of a tail or inquisitive tilt of the head. Indeed, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d accidentally travelled tens of millions of years back in time.
They’ve also found the perfect balance between entertainment and education, as Miranda shares a few choice facts about each animal whilst simultaneously trying to feed, groom, pet and basically keep her cheeky playmates under control.
If that and the egg-citing climax (will Gertrude the Giraffatitan become a mummy before the lights go up?) isn’t enough to tempt you and your dino-obsessed small humans – there’s even a chance to get up close and personal with one of the pre-historic performers at a post-show meet and greet. Roarsome fun for the whole family.
Dinosaur World Live is appearing at the Theatre Royal Bath until Sunday 13th October. To book tickets call the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or visit theatreroyal.org.uk