Milkshake! Live Party Party at the Epstein Theatre Liverpool Review
Milkshake! Live
Party Party
Epstein Theatre, Liverpool
11 October 2015
Reviewed by Gemma Berkul
I was lucky enough to be picked to watch Milkshake! Live at the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool. I went with my daughter (age 5), my son (5 months), my sister-in-law and my niece (aged 22 months). We were travelling from Manchester and had allowed plenty of time to get there as I was unsure of car parks etc.
When we got near the theatre which is right in the centre we noticed that there was an NCP car park quite near, but we decided to look to see if there were any parking facilities even nearer the venue. We were lucky to find a car park down a side street which charged £1.50 an hour which was a 5 minute walk away from the theatre. So we parked up and walked to the theatre.
On arrival, there was a young man at the door who said we would go in the lift as we had a pram. The young man was very pleasant and friendly. As the lift is quite old it made a rather loud rickety noise which scared my niece. As a result I started to sing a made up song about going up in a lift and the young man joined in which I thought was lovely! (he probably thought we were a bit crazy though haha!).
We walked out of the lift and went to get our tickets. A nice lady approached us straightaway and advised us that my pram will be stored in the lovely bar room. A tannoy announced that you can get a booster seat for 50p from the box office. We purchased one of these for my niece. Although they are not expensive to hire, I do think these seats should be free.
We waited in the nice bar/waiting area which was nice and calm considering it was full of roughly 2-5 year olds! We were able to eat our own food and drinks there too. Although you can buy (alcoholic) drinks and snacks at the bar.
My sister-in-law and I decided to change the children’s nappies before the show and the changing facility was just next to waiting room which was handy. The changing facilities/toilet were nice and clean and smelt nice too.
We were seated in the right circle at the top, front row. The view was excellent and the girls could stand or sit to watch the show.
When the room darkened and the show started the atmosphere was lovely. It was full of excitement and joy. Children and adults were clapping and some children waved their light up toy wand which can be purchased beforehand for £5 each.
The show was great and all the entertainers were very enthusiastic. The two main entertainers encouraged audience participation which was good, especially for my nearly 5 year old. They performed lots of great dances. My daughter and my niece loved dancing and copying the moves too! (If I wasn’t holding my 5 month old baby then maybe I would have joined in too! Haha).
The storyline was good too which consisted of a surprise birthday party for Milkshake Monkey. The party for him was at the end of the show and was a lovely ending. They also asked the audience if it was their birthday and read out some birthday requests. My daughter said to me that she wishes it was her birthday so she could have her name read out too haha!!
The first half lasted approximately 30 minutes which went really fast. Then there was a 20 minute interval (you get a five minute warning over a tannoy). The second half was shorter, approximately 20 minutes. I thought they had the length of time for the show just right but maybe a shorter interval would have been better.
The characters on stage included The Little Princess, Milkshake Monkey, Noddy, Bananas in Pyjamas, Bello from Jelly Jam, Tessie Bear, Chloe from Chloe’s Closet, Toby’s Travelling Circus, Tallulah from Tickety Toc.
I would say most of the children there were aged 2-5 and that I think it’s aimed at 3-4 year olds. Then they are old enough to understand the storyline and dance too. Although my five month old watched the first half too! He wasn’t fazed by the loud noise and big bouncing characters on stage at all.
All in all it was a fantastic experience for us all. The girls had a great time and it was a lovely day out at the theatre. The show was really good and although the theatre is old it was quite quaint. The staff were lovely and friendly and we’re happy to help. I would rate this 4/5. I think it makes a nice birthday treat out for your little one or just an excuse to have some weekend family fun.
Rating: 4/5
Milkshake! Live Party Party is currently on tour around the UK, for more information and tour dates visit www.milkshake.tv/content/milkshake-live-party-party.
For other shows at the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool visit www.epsteinliverpool.co.uk.
The Epstein Theatre, Hanover House, 85 Hanover Street, Liverpool, L1 3DZ | 0844 888 4411
