Dotty the Dragon at the Buxton Opera House Review
Dotty the Dragon
Buxton Opera House
14 April 2014
Reviewed by Deborah Girling
I went to Buxton Opera House with my 7 year old daughter to see Dotty the Dragon. We managed to get parked pretty much right outside the theatre using the on street car parking but having been before, I know that there is also a large car park nearby. The theatre and staff were very welcoming, finding our tickets and showing us to our seats on the balcony, promptly.
We had arrived 5 minutes early so had time to take in our surroundings. The theatre itself is beautiful and kept to a high standard. Of course my daughter’s eyes were drawn to the stage where the scene was set, ready for the show to begin. This got her excited rather than having the usual ‘safety curtain’ to look at. The set was brightly coloured, immediately appealing to the young audience and along with the music playing in the background, I could feel the excitement mounting!
The story of Dotty the Dragon is all about a baby dragon who wants to make friends with the children in the nearby village but everyone is afraid of the family of dragons! The story was told by two storytellers through puppets, models and costumes. The puppeteers were visible on stage but this added to the overall effect as their body language helped convey the mood of the characters. To me, it was a little confusing as the storytellers were obviously taking on all of the characters between them so there was lots of changing of puppets/costumes and ducking behind the scenery to change characters. However, my daughter did not seem confused! The set didn’t change throughout the play and while this may seem a little limiting, the good use of storytelling and props kept the audience interested. In fact, I was amazed at how this performance managed to keep so many (the theatre was almost full) young children happy and well entertained for an hour! There was some light audience participation which kept it varied but on the whole, the children were clearly enjoying themselves joining in with calling out and laughing at the funny parts. It was, in places, a little like a pantomime.
The target audience for Dotty the dragon is 3-7 year olds. My daughter has recently turned 7 and it just kept her interested. I felt that the optimum target audience would be 3-5 year olds due to the basic nature of the storyline.
I give this 3.5/5 due to the fairly basic story.
Rating: 3.5/5
Dotty the Dragon is currently touring the UK. For more information, tour dates or to book tickets at a venue near you visit www.blunderbus.co.uk/tour-dates/4582201166.
Buxton Opera House, Water Street, Buxton Derbyshire, SK17 6XN | Box Office 0845 1272190
