Dora the Explorer Live
Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth
Reviewed by Stephanie Moore
When I told my 3 year old twin girls that we were off to see Dora the Explorer Live on Stage they were, to say the least, super excited! I went along with my friend and the four of us had a girly afternoon to the theatre.
When we arrived in the foyer we were greeted by friendly staff that were very helpful. There was also the obligatory table where you could purchase all sorts of Dora merchandise like T-shirts, bags, toys, programmes and DVD’s.
The theatre we went to was an ideal size for children, they had only opened up the stalls area for this show and it was small enough that the children were close enough to the stage to able to get a good view of the characters. Although I would recommend bringing a cushion or booster seat as there were a couple of things happening on the stage at low level and that meant that my two struggled to see past people’s heads.
When we went into the theatre we were given a blue paper star that had a paper handle, each child is given one to wave around. My twins thought that this was great!
The Dora stage curtain was bright and colourful and the hole through the middle of the ‘O’ intrigued my twins wondering what was going to come through there. The whole show was full of colour, lights, dancing and songs which is just the thing for a kids show.
I loved the way they included the children in the show, they got them to help Dora and Boots by doing physical actions. Pushing the clouds up into the sky in the mixed up jungle, closing the bridge by stomping your feet and pushing the sun back together!
Of course, along with Dora, we had to have ‘Swiper the fox’ to get the children shouting. Cries of ‘Swiper!’ rang out whenever he came on stage during his race against Dora to the City of Lost Toys!
The use of Spanish and English was used well, when the dancing numbers came out they did both languages for the numbers 1-3. They combined it into a song for the children to sing and join in with.
The best bit was the stars for my girls, they had colourful star lights shining above them and moving all around. Their face lit up when they were shining all around the theatre and trying to catch them!
The timing was perfect, two 30 minute halves to the show with a 20 minute interval so none of the children got bored throughout.
To top it off, at the end of the show whilst all the characters were dancing and singing goodbye they dropped bubbles from above. Queue lots of very happy children, instead of sad ones because it had finished!
Even if your child doesn’t watch Dora the Explorer they will still love this show and enjoy it just as much. It is a show made perfectly for children and they will enjoy the experience which at the end of the day is what it’s all about!
Overall I and my twins enjoyed this show and would suggest if it is in your area to go and see it!
Rating: 5/5 
For more information, tour dates and to book tickets click here.
