Peppa Pig’s Big Splash at the Bristol Hippodrome Review
Peppa Pig’s Big Splash
Bristol Hippodrome
7-8 October 2014
Reviewed by Lee-Anne McCarthy
with Finn and Alfie Aged 2
I’ve always loved the theatre and regularly attend myself so when I was asked to review Peppa Pig’s Big Splash I thought what better time to introduce my two year old twin sons to the fun of the stage. Needless to say we were all very excited to be meeting Peppa, Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig and George.
I was a little nervous as to how my 2 year olds would cope with watching this show. I thought it would be a show made up of life sized mascot type characters but to my surprise it wasn’t. Instead the entire show was made up of puppets and puppeteers live on stage. I know many children who are quite unnerved by mascot type characters so the choice of puppets instead was an excellent surprise. The puppets were everything you expected each lovely character to be. Even George’s fountain like tears were exactly as the children had experienced them on the television show. This attention to detail really helped my young sons to understand what was happening and experience the story properly. Throughout the show the puppeteers were present on stage and really engaged with every little person in the room. The puppeteer’s presence on stage in no way took away from the magic for my sons. The classic and well known voices of the characters along with the large puppets really engaged every pre-schooler in the room. Both my boys were wholly enthralled throughout the performance which is quite a feat for two uber active two year olds.
The show tells the story of Peppa and her friends at the fundraising school fayre. It is a lovely basic story that my little men really enjoyed. Throughout were many catchy songs that the children could sing along to or in my case Mammy sang along to. The characters encouraged the children to participate and really made them feel a part of show; we all got to jump up and down in muddy puddles. Be warned if you’re in the front seats of the stalls those muddy puddles really make a splash, you may get a little wet. The show was a very manageable 1 hour and 30 minutes including interval. This was an ideal length for the very young audience members it is aimed at.
This is a lovely show that helps introduce younger audience members to the joys of the stage. Its catchy songs and talented puppeteers all make for a wonderful afternoon of pure unadulterated fun. We give this show a fantastic 5/5.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £16.40 to £22.90 (plus £4 transaction fee).
Peppa Pig’s Big Splash is at the Bristol Hippodrome until 8 October 2014. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 3012.
Peppa Pig’s Big Splash is currently touring the UK. For more information visit www.peppapiglive.com.
Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol, BS1 4UZ | 0844 871 3012
