In the Night Garden Live

We were invited to watch the final show of In the Night Garden (Birmingham) 2018 and it was spectacular.

This is our third time of viewing the show and it did not disappoint.

We opted for the pinky ponk show, purely based on the starting time. There is an earlier show which is the Ninky Nonk show.

We arrived a couple of minutes prior to the show and arrived/parked without any issues.

The showdome is sign posted well around the park with excitable families walking towards the dome, so you can’t miss it. We were greeted by enthusiastic staff members as we entered who commented on L’s desire to wear a unicorn headband (very night garden!).


The dome is well decorated and there are stalls for merchandise up on entry.

Once you walk through the small walkway, the dome opens up into a lovely green area, which has seating for all the family and great views of the stage from all directions.

We opted to sit at the top half and centrally, to get the best view (but not too far away).

The show started with the recognised ‘round and round’ tune, with the parent hand stroking the child’s palm, greeted by a cheer when Iggle Piggle’s sail boat appeared in the background.

The show featured Makka Pakka, who wanted to wash everyone’s face. He appears in both large form and small puppet form (which the cast move with their hands is a smooth formation). He appeared in each scene with a willingness to take out his sponge and clean
away.. even though he nearly lost his sponge at one point!

L sang along to Makka Pakka song, Iggle Piggle song (which the dome erupted when he entered the stage) and Upsy Daisy (L’s favourite – show likes the tune for her intro song).

The show also features the Tomliboo’s and the Pontipines .. who also get their faces washed by Makka Pakka’s sponge and soap (which he keeps on his trendy push bike).

All of the children around us stood for the majority, singing and dancing to each of the characters entry theme. Everyone seemed to recognised all of the characters as they appeared on stage and were greeted by cheers from all.

The bubbles were a great touch to a super show, with the kids trying to catch them as they were blown around the dome (from both sides).

L was smaller when we last visited the night garden live, so likely watched the show for the colours and sounds.. However she seemed to grasp the characters a lot better and sang the songs with ease.

All in all an excellent afternoon out at the showdome to watch In the Night Garden.

We opted to remain in Canon Hill park afterwards and the play area is located right outside the showdome, so L did enjoy herself on a thoroughly entertaining afternoon.

I would definitely recommend the night garden live to anyone who has little ones, as it is really good fun.