Reviewed by Rebecca Banasko
My children are currently OBSESSED with anything dinosaur related so we were insanely excited to see Dinosaur World at The Lowry recently. The recommended age for the show was 3+. My son is 4½ and I knew he’d love it and I wondered whether to bring his 2½ year old sister. However, since her love of dinosaurs matches his, I decided to bring her along.
The Lowry is incredibly family friendly and their staff are always on hand to support you with young children or just to provide a buggy park while you enjoy the show. We were led to the large theatre which just added to the excitement as my son was determined to see a T-Rex and to him the stage looked plenty big enough to accommodate one. We were greeted by Matilda, a young dinosaur enthusiast who was keen to introduce us to her beloved ‘pets’ and her parent’s life work. She’d been lovingly protecting and incubating a dinosaur egg for a year and placed it carefully at the side of the stage asking the children to watch in case it showed any signs of hatching.
It took a while to get into as the children were eager to see a dinosaur and Matilda set-up the story and what was to come. Eventually the first dinosaur joined us, a rather lovely and slightly cheeky Stegosaurus. The large herbivore was skilfully steered across the stage complete with wonderful grunts and breathing noises which fascinated my son. He was still talking about the noises it made the next day. The children were delighted!
A few lucky children were chosen to come up on stage to meet or feed the dinosaurs. This was lovely to see. Matilda’s enthusiasm and humour made the show very entertaining as she brought on a range of different dinosaurs including my personal favourite the Microraptor, a rather sleepy baby triceratops and finally a baby T-rex. In between the children were entertained by the ‘wobbling’ dinosaur egg from time to time, in the hope that it may hatch but alas nothing developed.
Finally, we got to meet a rather giant and impressive Tyrannosaurs Rex – Titan. The excitement in the theatre from the children was tangible as they jumped about on their seats and marvelled at the size and sound of the beast on stage. It was certainly a sight and after a warning about a previous ‘incident’ involving an audience member’s arm and the enormous Titan, it was decided that maybe the children shouldn’t meet Titan, much to their disappointment. But this didn’t last as they learnt they were to meet 3 of the other dinosaurs in the theatre as well as out in the foyer.
But before this we were treated to the sight of a final ‘wobble’ of the egg and the emergence of a new baby dinosaur into the world. The meeting of the dinosaurs was definitely a highlight for the children. Although my son was so convinced by the dinosaurs that he refused to stroke the baby T-Rex. My daughter at this point had lost some interest but I was impressed that the show had mostly held a 2 year olds attention for an hour.
The show was great fun, it was fascinating as a grown up to see how the dinosaurs were moved around the stage and how realistic they looked to a child. Matilda was entertaining although in a theatre full of eager children it was hard to maintain their attention between dinosaur introductions. I recommend this show as a fun way to spark their interest in dinosaurs as it was also quite educational as well as entertaining. I give this a 4/5 but think the age of 3+ is probably the right recommendation.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £16 to £18.50 (booking fees may apply).
Dinosaur World is at The Lowry in Manchester from 29-31 May 2017, for more information or to book tickets visit www.thelowry.com or call the box office on 0843 208 6000.
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3AZ | 0843 208 6000
