Review: DINOSAUR WORLD LIVE, Troubadour Wembley Park
Pamela Raith
As we all streamed out of Wembley Park Tube station, it was obvious where most of us were going: anyone under 10 with a toy dinosaur clutched tightly was obviously heading for the Troubadour Theatre. Following Starlight Express into this 2,000 seat building is a return London visit for the ever-popular Dinosaur World Live.
As the very young – and very excited – audience streamed in, the levels of anticipation were high – and over the next hour or, those expectations were definitely met. Sightlines were good and booster seats were available where needed, and the only disappointment in this vast venue was the stage configuration: not the usual thrust area seen here, but a traditional proscenium arch occupying only the central stage area. Although everyone could see, this did make the stage seem distant in such a large venue; a small disappointed voice behind me was heard to say “How are they going to get a T Rex on there?” The excellent microraptor puppet, for example, was difficult to see in any detail from half-way back, and we certainly couldn’t answer the narrator’s question about the colour of its eyes.
Such concerns soon evaporated once the show got going however, with our narrator and dinosaur guide Miranda (the hard-working and engaging Lizzie Burder) quickly warming up the audience, refusing to be thrown by a mic dipping in and out, and then providing all sorts of facts about each of the dinosaurs as they appeared. She also attempted to give us the backstory created by writer/director Derek Bond, a tale of long sea voyages, lost parents and landing on a tropical island that took up perhaps too much time when the audience just wanted to see dinosaurs, and then was more or less forgotten in favour of a succession of creature meet and greets (meets and greets?).
These reservations aside, once the dinosaurs appeared, the show completely won over its young audience and managed to keep their accompanying adults engaged as well. The creatures were operated by a team of skilled puppeteers introduced by Miranda as dinosaur wranglers – a nice conceit, and their skills were such that they soon became properly invisible. Puppetry royalty were involved too, with Max Humphries as Puppet Designer and Toby Olie as Puppetry Consultant, supported by this crack team of operators. These skilled puppeteers know when their creatures need to stand still, breathe and blink and when to make human contact through a head movement or a sudden noise. We all learnt some key facts about each creature, although I remain unconvinced that a T Rex could be kept at bay by waving a football on a stick…
A few very lucky young volunteers got chosen to come up and feed, stroke or even tickle a dinosaur, and for many adults this was one of the most engaging sections of the show. Presumably the chosen youngsters will never forget it either. The rest of the audience were noticeably reluctant to applaud the chosen individual, perhaps because they had been hoping to be the selected one. It’s a one hour show with no interval, but everyone gets the chance to get up close with a baby T Rex at the end, and there is also a photo op in the foyer with Miranda and a baby Stegosaurus.
Dinosaur World Live runs at the Troubadour Wembley Park till 6th September and then tours the UK, and tickets start at £10. It’s a fun show for all young dinosaur enthusiasts, and the skill with which the creatures are portrayed makes it an entertaining experience for the adults who take them there.
****Four Stars
Reviewed by Chris Abbott
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