In The Night Garden Live At Lighthouse Theatre, Poole Review

Reviewed by Helen O

Having seen In The Night Garden Live with my son back in 2021, I couldn’t have been more excited to have been asked to see the show again at the Lighthouse, Poole, but with my 18 month old daughter this time. The TV series In The Night Garden has been a staple in our family through the last 20 years, with each new addition to our family being captivated by its magic. However, I was surprised to read that In The Night Garden Live is now in it’s 14th year!

The Lighthouse Theatre is local to where I live, so my husband dropped my daughter and I off, which was really simple, as there was an opportunity to drop us directly outside of the theatre, without causing an obstruction to other drivers. For those driving to the venue, there are a couple of options for parking nearby, one in the Dolphin Shopping Centre, which is opposite the theatre and there’s also a short stay, Seldown surface car park opposite, with charges 24 hours per day. All parking charges for BCP Council car parks can be found online prior to visiting, so you can plan your journey.

When we arrived at the venue, I went to the ticket office to collect my tickets, which I had been advised would be waiting for us to collect at the time of the performance. However, there appeared to be a bit of confusion and it took approximately 15 minutes for the tickets to be found and printed. Unfortunately, despite allowing plenty of time for collection of the tickets prior to the 4pm performance, this delay meant that there wasn’t any spare time to grab a drink from the refreshment area before the show started, as an announcement had been made for the last audience members to take their seats before the performance started. As such, I can’t comment on the prices of refreshments at the venue.

We found our seats with ease – J22 and J23, which gave us a really good view of the stage. In my rush to sit down, I hadn’t taken note that there were some booster seats which could be used to assist with my daughter seeing the stage a bit better, due to her size. Fortunately a kind gentleman sitting next to us asked if we would like one and went and got one for us, which was really welcome and was definitely needed for full enjoyment of the show (my daughter is fiercely independent and as she had been given her own seat, was determined to use it!) The auditorium was approx half full, with all the audience sitting in the front 12 or so rows. As it was such a hot day outside, this was probably a welcome blessing, although it didn’t feel unbearably hot, which was good. The seats were comfy and there was plenty of leg room, which was a bonus.

The show started more or less on time, beginning with the familiar theme tune, which you could tell really engaged the children in the audience from the outset, my daughter looked on, wide-eyed taking it all in. The actors appear on stage in ‘camouflage-style’ costumes, bringing smaller puppet versions of the characters to life in the first instance, before full size characters wearing the costumes appeared on stage, each taking turns to be introduced and singing their associated songs. The first to appear was Iggle Piggle, which really set the standard for the rest of the show, looking exactly like the character from the TV series.

Makka Pakka, Upsy Daisy, The Pontipines, The Tombliboos, The Tittifers, The Ninky Nonk and The Pinky Ponk all have their part to play in the show, so there really is something for everyone. The performance is even narrated by Derek Jacobi, as is the TV series…isn’t that a Pip!

One of the best things about the performance is the clever use of different media to portray the characters and storyline, from the use of projections, magical puppets and life size characters in costumes, bringing the characters to life and helping to depict the differences in sizes of the characters, as seen in the TV series. The icing on the cake was the flying Pinky Ponk, which briefly hovered over the audience, captivating and surprising everyone (it is advertised about the flying Pinky Ponk, but I’d forgotten that it was due to make an appearance!)

There was a welcome announcement at the start of the show advising that the audience is permitted to take photographs and videos of the show, as long as they don’t use their flash, as this could distract other members of the audience. So I have some great memories to share with my daughter when she’s older, of her first trip to the theatre. Although, there were a few people in the audience who were caught using their flash, so were approached by a member of staff, which I found more distracting, if I’m being honest. As were the flashing light toys which had been purchased by some parents before the show, so I’m not sure it made much difference if the camera flash was used or not.

I must admit I had been dreading it in the run up to the day, as I wasn’t sure if my daughter’s attention span was going to be very good, I was pleasantly surprised about how the show kept her engaged for the majority of the performance, given her young age and the fact that the show is just shy of an hour long. In fact, the children in the audience were all really well-behaved for the duration and it made a change for it to be acceptable to have a certain level of disruption and chatter during a performance.

The recommended age range of the performance is 0-4 years, which I think is perfect for the show, although there were some children older than that who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it. I personally think the show is brilliant and is perfect for any In The Night Garden fan. At a running time of 55 minutes, the ticket price ranges are on the higher end of the scale, with the average adult ticket at £20 and an under 18’s ticket approx £18.

In The Night Garden Live is showing at Poole Lighthouse 10th and 11th June 2023, with 2-3 daily performances. However, in total the show is appearing at 30 theatres nationwide.

On the way out of the auditorium, there was an option to purchase some official merchandise, such as helium balloons, programmes (£6), puzzles and large plush Upsy Daisy toys (£29).

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Price of tickets: Adult tickets range from £18 – £22 and Under 18’s tickets cost £15.80 – £19.80. Under 6 months tickets can be purchased as a Babes in Arms ticket for £3.

Tickets for In The Night Garden Live at Poole Lighthouse can be booked by visiting https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/event/in-the-night-garden-live/ or at one of the other venues nationwide at https://www.nightgardenlive.com/

Address of Venue – The Lighthouse Theatre, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, BH15 1UG