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The past really is a blast
Dinosaurs can go to your head when Australovenator is about Dinosaur Zoo
Birmingham Hippodrome
****
ERTH’S Dinosaur Zoo has arrived at Birmingham
Hippodrome on an extensive UK Tour and, first off, if you’re not a
dinosaur fan - or rather if you don’t have a small dinosaur fan in your
family - then this probably isn’t the show for you. If
however, like me, you really rather like dinosaurs and have a child who
utterly LOVES dinosaurs, then you may
well be on to a winner. Concentrating on the dinosaurs
of the southern hemisphere, this antipodean sojourn into the land of the
dinosaurs is both informative as well as entertaining. The puppets on show are both
excellently constructed and excellently presented, with an attempt made
to show a real animal instinct/behaviour and dinosaur feel to the
interaction on
Enormous Meganeuras (pictured left -think massive Dragonflies with 94cm wingspans) are taken through the audience, landing on audience member’s outstretched fists. A better start than
asking the children for Dinosaur jokes - the one picked went down like a
lead balloon. For future audience members
requiring a stock joke: Why do you never hear a
Pterodactyl go to the bathroom? Because the P is silent. You’re welcome. Baby Dryosaurs then hiked up
the cute factor considerably and would not have looked out of place in
the ill-fated early 90s Dinosaurs sitcom. (It may be only me that thinks
that - in fact it may have been only me that watched Dinosaurs). A pair of Leaellynasaura
provided the best interaction between pairs of dinosaurs and whilst no
effort was made to hide the puppeteers, the Leaellynasaura truly did
capture the attention of the audience. Throughout, pre-picked
children from the audience are on stage interacting with the dinosaurs.
This is an admirable aspect to the show; a big risk as it gives a lot of
importance to which children are picked and how entertaining/pragmatic
they are on stage with what they’re being asked to do. Generally it
works but sometimes you can’t help but feel the tangible disappointment
of the children not on stage and some segments do rather bog down the
show. The zoo keeper compere, to
give him his due, works hard to try and keep children and adults amused
and the tempo high but, on occasion, it’s asking a lot, even for him. As well as the dinosaurs
themselves Increasing in size as the 50
minute show progresses the Australovenator - the closest we get to a
T-Rex, is an incredibly impressive puppet (and indeed puppeteer) and
manages to scare both the children on stage and some of them off it.
Finally, the serene Titanosaur
(or rather its massive head and neck) provide a calming end to the show. These two dinosaurs are the
closest we get to the Jurassic Park style ‘wow’ moments, a case of close
but not cigar for those but the most ardent dinosaur fans. Afterwards, the audience has a
chance to meet the Dryosaurs and Leaellynasauras - a really
super end to the show which gives the adults a chance to see a top
quality puppet (though many did stroke the dinosaurs too) and the
children the chance to meet the dinosaurs, with the excellent
puppeteers/zoo keepers, doing an superb job of keeping the magic alive
for them whilst also instilling the need for respect of the dinosaurs
when stroking them. Renée was especially good with the children. Overall, I think Erth’s
Dinosaur Zoo is trying to do something genuinely exciting, educational
and innovative. In a world where children are introduced to countless
Dinosaur experiences they have tried to do something different from the
norm. Yes, it would have been easier
to just do the same old Dinosaurs (to be truthful a lot of children were
shouting for a T-Rex, so it might be worth warning them in advance
there’s no T-Rex, to soften the blow) but Erth have tried to introduce
lesser known dinosaurs into the mix and for that they should be
applauded. Equally the inclusion of children on stage is a bold move but
one that really is pot luck whether it works or not. If you love dinosaurs, or have
a little one who does, then you’ll enjoy the show, if you don’t then you
may find that there is not quite enough wow factor to convert you
(only 3 stars for non-believers) but at £12 - £15 and
50 minutes in length it’s probably worth a punt and the ‘meet and great’
afterwards is a great addition. To 15-03-15 Theo Clarke
13-03-15
Dinosaur Zoo runs at Birmingham
Hippodrome to Sunday 15 March 2015. Tickets £12.50 -
£15. Perf times: Fri 2pm & 4pm; Sat 11am; Sun 11am & 2pm.
Call 0844 338 5000 or book online at
birminghamhippodrome.com.
The Australovenator, meaning Southern Hunter, was found in central
Queensland in 2009 and was like a small T-Rex, about 6ft 6in at the hip
and 20 feet long It was affectionately nicknamed Banjo by
its discoverers, after Banjo Paterson, the author of Waltzing
Matilda. Traces of collagen found in Tyrannosaurus fossils, incidentally, places among its modern day descendants chickens and ostriches.
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stage
there is lots of dino information, which the children themselves lap up
and are sure to regurgitate verbatim to anyone within earshot over the
coming months.