I was cross with myself for missing the dinosaur fun at Jurassic Kingdom at Osterley Park over Easter. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/osterley-park-and-house/whats-on/jurassic-kingdom-at-osterley-park so I was determined to get a palaeontology fix at the Dinosaur World show in Richmond today.
Continuing the Easter fun, while we waited for the show to open there was a Dinosaur Egg hunt in the theatre and colouring and word search fun set up in the bars.
Most of the small people present were in the age range of three to six years old. And they were all hyper-excited. One chap near me was clutching a large grey fluffy T Rex and a smaller pink one. Others were wearing dinosaur themed tee and sweat shirts. Clearly I was amongst fellow dinosaur fans. Wish I’d had a sweet for each child that asked impatiently “When will we see the dinosaurs?” before curtain up.
Miranda appeared on the stage – which had mysterious packing boxes in the background – to tell her story about her early life on a dinosaur island and growing up with her dinosaur friends. And then the dinosaurs started to appear.
There was a large, gentle creature called Juliet who was a fussy eater. There was baby triceratops Beatrice who we had to sing back to sleep. We all laughed at a young, small T Rex who played ball and wore a collar and lead. Orlando was a flying micro-raptor who liked to be brushed. And there was a huge, roaring T Rex who was utterly terrifying. Well I was scared.
And we also witnessed the hatching of a tiny dinosaur and saw the enormous head and neck of his mum appear to say “Hello”. We learned a lot too – about different types of dinosaurs and what they eat, how they see and all about imprinting.
Eloise, who is four years old, could hardly contain her excitement during the show. She joined in enthusiastically and was desperate to go onto stage when volunteers were sought. There were nearly tears and tantrums when she wasn’t chosen. Some children ran up to the stage so their parents had to keep them under close guard. And unlike some of the more timid guests, who cried when the huge T Rex came on bellowing with thunderous noise, flashing lights and atmospheric mist – Eloise was delighted.
The show is just 55 minutes long which is plenty for small people with limited attention spans. And the audience participation kept them glued to the stage.
And for those who weren’t fortunate enough to be invited onto stage to help feed, brush, stroke and walk the dinosaurs during the show there was a 15 minute “meet the dinosaur” session afterwards. Thankfully with gentle Juliet rather than the scary T Rex.
Back in 2009 I took a four year old to see Walking with Dinosaurs at The O2 https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/blogs/showblog.php?post=815 . Whilst it was a longer show and with more sophisticated animatronics, we were so far away from the arena that the dinosaurs were distant and small. At Richmond we were up close and personal and it was fabulous.
Dinosaur World is performing at Richmond Theatre (11am and 2pm shows) tomorrow and Sunday http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/dinosaur-world/richmond-theatre/
Other tour dates shown here https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/dinosaur-world-touring
