Having been big fans of ‘In The Night Garden’ when my son was younger, I was a little sceptical about taking him and his friend (both 3.5 years) to the show. I thought maybe they were a little too old and that my superhero action loving boy wouldn’t be entertained by the likes of a waving Iggle Piggle and the dancing Upsy Daisy. How wrong I was!
This promo video will give you a good idea of what to expect when you go!
The whole experience was absolutely brilliant, from arriving at the huge bubble shaped inflatable show dome, to walking through the sparkly tunnel and arriving at the bright and colourful stage, their attention was well and truly captured!
Both children sat still (a rare occurrence) and watched, enjoyed and joined in with the show. They were opportunities to sing along with the characters and there was even space to get up and copy their dancing if the mood took you.
The storyline was very similar to that of the books or the TV shows, a sort of familiarity that the children enjoyed. The show was bright and lively and at one point even 3D as bubbles were blown into the audience, everything that you would expect from an ‘In The Night Garden’ experience.
Looking around the auditorium I would predict that most children were 12-24 months of age and I think that to get the most awe (and value for money) out of the show this is the best age group suited to being in the audience, that said I had two 3.5 year olds and a 7 month old with me who all thought it was pretty cool!
We were sat at the back (where the view was still excellent) and they had some space to move around and so this was quite a good choice.
If I was to pull some criticisms from the outing I would suggest that the show was 10 mins too long, after about 30 mins it was very noticeable that a lot of the children (mine included) got a little restless and didn’t want to be sat still too much longer.
The only other negative that I would mention is that on the way out you are herded through the merchandise area. Obviously there are a lot of people all leaving at the same time and so I think that the herding was unavoidable but it was a little stressful trying to keep hold of a buggy and two children whilst they were totally distracted by the balloons being sold and chanting ‘please please’ as I dragged them past. Not a massive issue but maybe something to prepare yourself for as you leave!
Overall we had a wonderful time and the show provided good value for money considering the amount of fun had by all! A must see show for all In The Night Garden Fans!
Tickets are priced between £14.50 -£30. The remaining shows are in Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.
For more information and to book tickets visit;
‘Night Garden Live’ Website.
This blog review was written by ‘Days Out With Kids’ contributor Karen, Mummy to 2 boys aged 3.5 and 5 months. Thanks Karen! Xx
