WEDNESDAY afternoon saw me walking to the Grand Opera House with an over-excited toddler shouting “Peppa Pig” all the way through town.

I am not a particular fan so wasn’t expecting too much from the live show except a nice couple of hours out with my son watching a re-enactment of one of his favourite TV programmes.

However, with the theatre full of excited children as Peppa Pig's Surprise started, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it took on more of a pantomime role with Daisy leading and getting the children involved from the very beginning.

There was a great mix of light, sound, music, singing and dancing. The performance really lent itself to everyone interacting with the characters, with some good additions such as George "crying", the use of water pistols and the rock pool exploration scene after the interval, which my son said was "pretty cool".

The puppeteers did a fantastic job of impersonating their characters and their voices and really getting into their particular roles, showing a great deal of enthusiasm.

The stage setting was simple and to the point, the story well written and performed. Overall the show was entertaining, interactive and engaging and did a great job in hitting the right target audience while not excluding parents.

In the words of a three year old, “It was awesome…”.

 

Review by Kelly Sowerby