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.

Review: In the Night Garden Live 2015

Round and round we went on this truly superb show!

Few weeks ago we went to see In the Night Garden Live show, the event took place at Canon Hill Park, Birmingham and was set within a lovely dome shaped tent.

As you enter the dome, you are welcomed by beautiful hanging coloured balls, which gave the arena a child friendly feel (and that is before you even enter the seating area). There is a wait/queue of approx. 20-30 minutes before the show begins, which if you have a little one (under 2/3 years of age, can feel like an eternity – unless they are sleeping).  We entertained ourselves with a complimentary souvenir activity brochure (worth £7) which comes as a package with Standard tickets.

We decided to wear L as I wasn't sure about the the facilities inside, but upon arrival I have noticed lots of allocated spaces to park a pushchair and of course toilet facilities for parents and their children. 

The seating was on a first come first serve basis (apart from the very front seating, which is reserved as Premium). My reaction to the seating was 'wow', the whole seating area was decorated in green felt (I believe), which gave the effect of being in the actual 'Night Garden', moving images projected onto the top of the stage, showing elements of the TV show (Pinky Ponk was one of them) were fascinating!

A superb start and we have not had the show yet!

The show consisted of a mixture of dressed up characters and performers moving puppet style versions of the show characters.

Iggle Piggle was the first to arrive (after a projected version of the recognised 'round and round we go' on a childs palm. The moment Iggle Piggle arrived on stage, it was like a celebrity had surprised us with their presence, the noise from the crowd was awesome (cheers from children and parents – do not deny it!).

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.

Excellent atmosphere (and there were only approx 200-300 people in the arena – each showing).

The story was of Makka Pakka losing his sponge (which he cleans the other characters with), which was eventually found in Upsy Daisy's flower megaphone.

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

From the perspective of L, she was enjoying the characters and songs (whether she truly knew what was going is unknown – I guess she sort of recognised the character, but she is only 1).

All of the characters were excellently presented (by the performers) and gave a sense of being part of the show. It also allowed the toddlers to engage and associate with them even better, in a live show. 

The live show lasts approx 50 minutes and guarantees enjoyment for all the family. There are 2 themed shows- Ninky Nonk and Pinky Ponk shows with extremely exciting endings which both me and L thoroughly enjoyed, without giving away too much your little one will have a chance to play with confetti or bubbles.

After the show you can meet the characters for £15 which covers up to 5 people and purchase the print after the session or you can spoil your little one with In the Night Garden themed toys and clothes. We didn't do any of that as L was getting unsettled so we opted to leave the dome promptly.


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