‘the dinosaur who came for christmas’, at the guildhall theatre
The Babbling Vagabonds with audience members Emily-Rose Brown and Evie Chadwick after the show. ‘A Christmas adventure like never before’ goes one of the songs from The Dinosaur Who Came for Christmas.
And that is certainly true, not least because a little troupe called the Babbling Vagabonds have again come up with their own story for their Christmas show, complete with their own songs, as they have done for the last few years at Derby’s tiny Guildhall Theatre.
Produced in association with Derby Live, this lovely little show is a great alternative to the big, blockbuster pantos, in the compact and bijou surroundings of this theatre with a much more up-close and intimate feel.
And, because there are not many seats, the cast welcome everyone before the show, walking up the aisles and chatting to the audience before they get going.
There are only four people in the cast, and they play all the characters between them.
The production we saw had an additional person on stage ‘signing’ all the dialogue so that hardof-hearing people could enjoy the show too.
The story is about a super-hero-loving boy, PJ, played by Mark Roberts, who is lonely but meets neighbour Belinda (Emily Vinnicombe), who loves playing the super hero – Super Pooper Scooper Girl to be precise.
She takes him to a nearby rubbish dump to play, and he finds a hard, old, football to take home to make a helmet. She tells him to keep it warm to soften it up.
In the night, PJ is woken by crackling sounds, and a little dinosaur hatches. It is a cute, green, furry hand-held puppet that has every one saying ‘aaahh.’ In the morning he’s gone, so cue some ‘it’s behind you’ opportunities during a search for the creature. Turns out it’s a fan of sprouts for breakfast, which has a certain side effect – a huge, loud, breaking of wind which has all the children howling with laughter. Big burps as well.
PJ and Belinda agree to take it back to the dump, but they are spotted by evil neighbour Lady Blunderbus and sidekick Terry, played by Phil Coggins and Laura Mae Mellor respectively. Lady Blunderbus is a huge dino fan, and they snatch the reptile with plans to build a ‘Jurassic Park.’ They sing ‘We’re Going To Be Rich!’
PJ and Belinda manage to steal the dinosaur back, and return it to the dump. Waiting there is the little creature’s mum, a huge puppet that takes up the whole stage. In pursuit are Lady Blunderbus and Terry with their Sproutomatic 2000 gun, that fire sprouts.
The mum eats the sprouts, followed by a mega breaking of wind complete with green gas. Suffice it to say, mum and baby dino are reunited, and all ends well.
The Babbling Vagabonds are brilliant at making a lot from a little. The set is sparse but the things they can do with puppets, shadows and light for effect is amazing. And after the show there is the chance for children to have their pictures taken with the cast.
The show runs on various dates until December 30, with tickets costing £4.38 to £12.25. To book, go to www. derbylive.co.uk/whats-on/the-dinosaur-who-came-for-christmas. Phil Coggins and Laura Mae Mellor Mark Robers as PJ