Although
I don’t have children of my own, I’m still somewhat of a Peppa Pig expert -
having three young nieces (8, 5 and 3), who have all been huge Peppa fans since
the moment they were first introduced to the television around the time of their first birthdays. My youngest niece,
being the biggest fan of the three, has had me sitting through back-to-back
episodes on YouTube, eating Peppa Pig themed birthday cake and playing with
various Peppa Pig toys, making me recreate various TV episodes, from adventures
in a camper van to Peppa and George’s classroom and family home.
Today
however was a totally new experience for me - getting to see the well-loved
characters brought to life on stage in a live action feature length story of
Peppa and George’s adventures with their classmates. Whilst unfortunately my youngest niece wasn’t
available to travel the 30-some miles to Salford’s The Lowry Theatre, I was
able to bring along a friend and her three-year-old son, another avid Peppa fan
and what was his first ever visit to a theatre. Having little memory of any events which took place before my tenth
birthday, I was unsure what to expect, given the target audience of Peppa Pig
being pre-school children, and whilst I see on average six to ten
theatrical performances per month, I’d yet to be a part of something
that is suitable for pre-school children.
However
from the moment we sat in our comfortable seats, the
relaxed atmosphere and several pre-show starter warnings (along with the shows
TV theme tune snippets), made the excited hundreds of pre-school kids both
relaxed yet excited at the same time as the fervour built up in the
auditorium.
Soon
we met Daisy, (Bronte Tadman), a young girl about to start her first day at
Peppa’s school who introduced herself to the young audience and soon had them
joining in as we helped search for Peppa in a game of hide and seek. Once Peppa was found we were introduced to
the rest of the gang - George; Peppa’s younger brother and the youngest class
member, Suzy Sheep, Gerald Giraffe, Daddy Pig and Mummy Pig and class teacher
Madame Gazelle. The audience took part
in class registration and learnt that not only was today Daisy’s first day at
school but it was also the day the class were taking a camping trip!
With
Daddy Pig driving the school bus we were soon heading into the woods, ready to
watch for all the animals which “only come out at night”.
The
puppets, set against a bold bright colourful set which was a perfect replica of
the cartoon scenes, from the school to the woodlands, made the production both
magical and easy viewing for the very young audience. The three year old boy (my friends son)
became engrossed in the atmosphere and story telling within the first sixty seconds,
and loved the constant audience participation moments from singing songs,
reciting nursery rhymes and counting, there was a real emphasis on team work, a
theme that was reinforced and discussed throughout in a way a three year
old could easily grasp the concept of. There was rain whilst camping and myself and
the surrounding pre-school kids revelled in getting soaked with real water and
were encouraged to get up and dance in “muddy puddles”. The only downside to this is that when the
50 minute production (plus an interval) was over, my newly found three year old
theatre convert companion was wanting to go find real muddy puddles to play
in! Luckily there weren't any to be found in
Salford!
I
always say how much I look forward to my three nieces growing up so that I can
introduce them to my love of theatre, but after today I now know I don’t have
to wait anymore, and look forward to the next live production featuring Peppa
Pig. I was disappointed to find out today was
just a two show day with no further dates in Salford, so now I eagerly await
another opportunity so that hopefully I can get the same satisfaction that I
did today, seeing a pre-school child light up as they experienced theatre for
the first, but certainly not the last time. A must for Peppa fans old and young!
Number 9 do not give star ratings, but if they did then this would be 5 stars without question!
Reviewer - Lottie Davis-Browne
on - 15/8/18
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