G Live

A Visit to Dinosaur World Live

We were delighted to have the chance to visit Dinosaur World Live at G Live in Guildford. There were free stickers for all the children plus a range of dinosaur merchandise available to purchase. Son 2 had come prepared with 3 of his cuddly dinosaurs, but he still managed to persuade us to buy another for his menagerie, this time a triceratops. Leading lady Miranda played by Elizabeth Mary Williams is supported by a team of puppeteers who skilfully control the dinosaurs. These range from small handheld puppets to the huge 10m long T-rex. Miranda draws in the audience right from the start when she places a dinosaur egg at the corner of the stage, asking everyone to call her name if it looks like hatching. Of course there are plenty of false hatching alerts throughout the performance. Miranda weaves her magic, telling us about the dinosaurs she grew up with who have come from a far-off island, introducing each one in turn. The large triceratops was Son 1's favourite whilst the huge T-rex was his Dad's favourite. We did get to meet baby versions of both of these earlier. A few children are invited up onto stage to participate in activities like feeding or tickling a dinosaur. It was nice to see that they weren't all from the front row. We all got the chance to roar. And at the end of the show, there was the opportunity for all children to meet and touch some of the dinosaurs - a large one on stage and 2 small ones in the foyer. It was a fantastic interactive performance and dinosaurs looked so realistic, that you almost forgot the puppeteers standing there. Miranda had the whole audience mesmerised, even the youngest children were watching in awe. The audience were actively encouraged to take photographs during the performance, although mine were shared afterwards as I had already discovered before the start that there didn't seem to be any internet connection in the venue. Suitable for all ages from 3+ and just under an hour long. Not too scary or loud, although I did notice some small children in front of us wearing headphones. With some lighting effects and smoke. This show is touring round the country and I do highly recommend that you take your children to see it. Son 2's favourite part was when the dinosaur egg finally hatched just before the end and then its mum turned up. He loved the tiny voice of the baby as the two communicated together. In fact, the puppeteers all had marvellous ventriloquist skills with different sounds for each species. And G-Live is a very nice modern venue, with a large tiered auditorium. It does have its own car park, but there were only a few spaces left when we arrived half an hour early, so do allow plenty of time before the performance. It also has its own cafe which we didn't sample, as well as a bar. We checked that drinks could be taken into the show.

12:17 PM September 4, 2018