Ginormous Eastersaurus treat for kids
Dinosaur World Live at the Corn Exchange from Tuesday, April 12, to Thursday, April 14
THE Corn Exchange was filled with excited children, all waiting to experience an interactive adventure in Dinosaur World Live, written by Derek Bond.
Our guide for this intrepid journey was Miranda (Jessica Aquilina) whose family encountered a fierce storm and were shipwrecked.
They were washed up on a mysterious island somewhere off the coast of Argentina, populated by dinosaurs.
These were undoubtedly the stars of the show, operated by five exceedingly talented puppeteers – Emily Cooper, Liam Wright, Richard Booth, Rhea Locker-Marsh and Gary Mitchinson – who breathed life into these giant monsters.
There was lots of audience participation with the kids eager to join in the fun.
Our genial host, Miranda, was excited, as she was looking after an abandoned triceratops egg due to hatch at any moment. She asked the audience, in true pantomime style, to let her know if they saw any movement.
The youngsters eagerly obliged, loving the challenge.
Miranda had been wearing a glove puppet in the shape of the mother to make the new baby feel loved when she eventually hatched. But her real mum, the 45-ton Giraffatitan, Gertrute, in a lovely tender moment, returned to look after her baby, to everyone’s delight.
Tamora, a baby T-rex was missing and so a search to find her began but was interrupted by the flying Microraptor, Orlando, swooping down to be fed.
A stubborn herbivore, Segnosaurus, was very naughty and wouldn’t eat her greens but one of the puppeteers hilariously pretended to be a tree and helped her overcome her reluctance.
We got lots of dinosaur facts about the various creatures which brought an educational element to the show, all delivered in a child-friendly way. Many of the children were already very knowledgeable.
Everyone was waiting for the arrival
of Titus, the giant of a T-Rex and he didn’t disappoint, filling the whole stage in a powerful, dramatic appearance that was really scary. Covid restrictions meant that there wasn’t an opportunity to meet the dinosaurs and have photographs taken after the show, which was a pity.
It was all tremendous fun and an ideal half-term treat.