Reviewed by Deborah Banasko
Nothing can prepare you for the crazy effect Justin has on an audience of children… and I mean this in the most positive of ways!
This was the first of his live shows that we had managed to get tickets for, and my 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were so excited. If I’m honest… so was I!
I have been to the Victoria Theatre numerous times; it’s a lovely theatre with friendly staff. There are two small car-parks 5 minutes walk away and plenty of on-street parking. The foyer is quite small, so it can seem a little crowded going in, but once you’re sat down it is really beautiful inside and the seating is comfortable.
This was a brand new show for Justin, which is always a risk I’d imagine. He still slipped into his usual character impressions every so often and sang the Hello and Goodbye song, so it wasn’t a step away by any means!
The premise was that Justin, along with his four singing/dancing friends, went on a journey to create a new band. The audience would be the singers, but he needed people who could play a range of musical instruments to be his band members. The musicians that he met along the way would demonstrate their instrument and play a well-known song for the children to dance and sing along to. Cue an amazing grand finale!
The only negative for me was the seating in the theatre. We were sat quite far back, and an extremely tall gentleman was sat in front of me. This meant that rather than sit in the middle of my children, they had to both sit to the side of me so that they could see. The theatre doesn’t provide booster seats, though it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway as I could not see a thing without leaning to the side. By the second half the neck and back ache got the better of me, so I moved to my son’s seat and had him on my knee. Not easily done when pregnant! This wasn’t the theatres fault, but I would recommend you book early and choose your seating with care as two tall people in front of us would have ruined it for one of the children. I am sure this is the case with a lot of old theatres… just bad luck!
Justin was on top form as usual and has such a gift with children. The show began (and ended) with confetti being launched into the audience, and despite being sat near to the back we were covered, which it was a real hit with the kids.
A highlight for my son was Justin getting custard pied in the face several times, he was squealing with laughter. In fact, he was glued to the stage for the entire performance which lasted almost two hours including an interval, so this was pretty good going for a 3 year old and says a lot about the fun fast-moving pace of the show.
We sang nursery rhymes; twinkle twinkle was especially gorgeous as the ceiling was lit up with star lights. Plus some upbeat numbers such as “rockin robin” which my kids didn’t know but had a dance along to.
The finale songs were “music man” and “hands up”, and the entire audience were dancing and singing it was just fantastic!
Justin seemed keen to nurture an interest in playing a musical instrument amongst children and given his influence I’m sure most would have come home and headed straight for the musical toys. It was interesting without being “too heavy” for young children.
The set was quite basic, but it didn’t warrant anything grand. Let’s be honest, all the kids really need is Justin at his best and they’re happy.
On the drive home my son said that he thinks Justin needs to get a new TV show about music and bands, so I think that speaks volumes about how much they enjoyed it. I wouldn’t dare give Justin anything less than 5 stars, my children would be furious!
Whilst they would love anything that he did, I have to say this was a brilliant show led by a genius children’s entertainer and worthy of nothing less than 5 out of 5 from my point of view as well. A must see for Justin fans!
Rating: 5/5
Justin’s Band is currently on tour around the UK, for more information and tour dates visit justinsband.com.
For other shows at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax visit www.calderdale.gov.uk/victoria or call the box office on 01422 351158.
Victoria Theatre, Fountain Street, Halifax HX1 1BP | 01422 351158
