So You Think You Know About Dinosaurs At Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield Review

Reviewed by Liz

The world recognised professor of evolutionary biology and primatology Dr Ben Garrod graced us with his presence at the Pomegranate Theatre in Chesterfield today. It was a pleasure to be invited to the theatre as I have never visited before. It’s a quaint and traditional setting in a side street in the centre of Chesterfield, with a small number of pay and display parking and street parking nearby. Parking was limited outside the theatre so if you intend to park close to the venue, leave in plenty of time to secure a spot.

The toilets were a little outdated but clean and the bar was reasonable with 2 hot chocolates, a laté, a share bag of Skittles, Minstrels and Haribo Starmix, (other brands of sweets available) coming in at £14.00, which is quite average I would say for a theatre of this stature. The theatre itself is pretty with the expected red velvet lined chairs and drapes with beautifully embellished balconies and pillars. It was a touch too cold for me with the air conditioning on as I sat in the aisle seat of row K, however, this did not distract too much from the performance. The staff were lovely, inviting and accommodating to say the least, especially considering they couldn’t find my ticket information.

The covid measures in place were within government guidelines, all the staff wore masks and there was hand sanitiser dotted all over the rebuilding.

If it is one thing I can say for Dr Garrod, is that he is certainly passionate about his craft. Despite palaeontology not actually being his area of expertise, it is fair to say he knew an awful lot about dinosaurs. He delivered his facts and information enthusiastically and tried to involve the audience as much as possible, asking lots of questions for the young children to answer. He attempted to get parents involved where possible and we weren’t allowed to ask our children for help or the answers. Dr Garrod was quite funny and tried his best to use his humour to keep the show interesting.

Having just spent the last 2 weeks teaching a class of year 1 children about dinosaurs, I felt quite confident that I had taught them well and that I had relayed reliable and concise information to them. Turns out… not so much. In fact to my dismay the Velociraptors in Jurassic Park aren’t actually velociraptors and that the real velociraptor was only knee height, this information actually destroyed a small part of me from my childhood, and once I thought I had gotten over that shock there was the revelation about the T-Rex which is just on a whole other level of mind blown. but you’ll have to go and see the show to find out what that was!

The production was slow in places and I did find myself and my 9-year-old drifting and our minds were allowed to wander a little which meant neither my son nor I were engaged fully in the show, which was a shame. I think it could have been a little quicker paced, although I also think I went in with the expectation that there would be maybe models, or puppets, like previous dinosaur shows I’ve seen, but this was just 1 man and his clips of what appeared to be his version of “walking with dinosaurs”( other dinosaur shows available). Again, I can’t take away his enthusiasm for his craft and the love he has for history and evolution shines through as he speaks, but I cant help but think this was maybe a little ambitious. There was an entire row of people that left at the interval and didn’t return, however, there was a large group of us that stayed for the Q and A Session at the end of the show. There was no resounding applause at the end and it all felt a little peculiar with whether or not it was finished. Many people just left as the Q and A started to the theatre emptied quite quickly as questions were answered. I had evolutionary questions I wanted to ask but seems off topic as all the children were asking about dinosaurs and I didn’t want to take that away from them.

Dr Garrod did an incredible job at inspiring many of the younger children – who are still in the dinosaur phase – to become palaeontologists and explore their options for further education and how to get in to a similar field as him. He shared his travelling experiences and experiences of working with BBC and Sir David Attenborough which was awe inspiring for many and a little cliche to others, but for the many it sparked a fire inside them that quite probably would not have been ignited elsewhere, which is a triumph in itself. The show is definitely better suited to younger children no older than 9 and is great fun once you get in to it. I would recommend it, it’s a nice afternoon out with the family and is great for teaching young children and adults alike things about dinosaurs you just never saw coming!

Rating: 4/5

So you think you know about dinosaurs tickets are available at https://www.bengarrod.co.uk/tours

Prices start at £13.00 + £1.50 transaction fee (variable depending on venue).

Venues vary and tour dates are from 22nd February – 24th April 2022