Review: In The Night Garden Live show 2016

Round and round 'again' we went on this truly superb show!

As you may already know, we are now veterans of In The Night Garden shows, this is a second time of visiting the great show at Canon Hill Park in Birmingham.

We were welcomed by warm enthusiastic staff members who seemed very approachable.. a good start :)

All of the previous décor greets you as you enter the wonderful dome as well as food/drink is available at all times.

There are cabins which house the toilet and changing facilities and there is a parking bay for pushchairs. However, we decided on having L free to roam this year, no baby carrier or pushchair, but instead just a harness (as she can walk after all).
We were given a free program prior to entering the stage by yet another enthusiastic staff member (I did clock £7 on the front page of the program), so a very nice freebie!

Arriving prior to the show was/is paramount for us, as L can get a bit fussy with waiting for things to begin and end, so the fact that we went straight through and the show started 5-10 minutes after sitting down was ideal.

                          

As per the previous years the green seating is meant to portray a grassy affect, as if you were sitting on the grass with Iggle Piggle & friends.

Seating is on a first come first serve basis (apart from the very front seating, which is reserved as Premium).

The show is very much the same as the previous year and consists of 'helpers', who mainly work the puppet versions of the characters.

There is also life like dressed characters, which gives off a true feeling of being part of the In The Night garden show.

                       
Iggle Piggle was the first to arrive (after a projected version of the recognised 'round and round we go' on a child's palm. Iggle Piggle appeared on the stage to a rapturous applause from the kids and adults, the noise from the crowd was of surprise and delight.

The crowd were then treated to the 'Iggle Piggle' entry tune (Yes my name is Iggle Piggle.. you know how it goes). With all the kids and parents singing along with the song.

It helped that L has been brought up with In The Night Garden, as she had a better understanding of the show this year. The story was of Iggle Piggle losing his blanket (which he carries with him in his hand), thankfully  it was eventually found.

                         

Similarly to Iggle Piggle, other characters were greeted in similar fashion, with a loud cheer and sing along.

                        
L seemed to really engage with the show this year, mainly because she is a year older and has a better understanding of what is going on during the show (she is a like a sponge at the moment- taking everything in).

The live show lasts approx 52 minutes and guarantees enjoyment for all the family. I was quite surprised to see that L was getting restless and distracted towards the end of the show as I honestly thought she would last longer, perhaps it is an age thing..

The confetti ending this year was a little disappointing, not only did one half of the audience get the whole lot, but it seemed very sudden and not coherent with the show, a sort of flat ending to an otherwise excellently presented show.

After the show you can meet the characters for £15 which covers up to 5 people (maximum of 3 children) and souvenir book and photo from the session or you can spoil your little one with In the Night Garden themed toys and clothes sold from one of the stalls.

Once we departed the dome, we opted to take a short stroll around Canon Hill park, who could blame us as it was a truly glorious day (weather and show)!

Disclaimer: We were offered 3 complimentary tickets for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.