EntertainmentTheatre

Octonauts Live at the Theatre Royal Brighton Review

OctonautsLiveOctonauts Live
Theatre Royal, Brighton

3-4 June 2015

www.atgtickets.com/brighton

Reviewed by Helen Warner

My four year old daughter and I took the train to Brighton to see the Octonauts and the Deep Sea Volcano Adventure at the Theatre Royal. The theatre was very accessible from the station, around a 10-15 minute walk.

There were staff outside who were very friendly and helpful. We went to the box office to collect our tickets which was a quick and easy process. There were booster seats available for the children which was an excellent idea and really felt like the younger guests were thought about and valued.

The theatre itself is fairly small but very beautiful, the ceiling caught our eye. There is plenty of character in the building.

The show was in two parts with an interval in between but because the show was only short it was not necessarily needed and may have unsettled some by breaking the concentration. I do think the price is rather high for a short show, although I don’t think it should be longer due to concentration span of young ones.

My daughter was mesmerised from the very start and all the way through. The characters were brilliant and the costumes appeared good quality. The actual storyline was a good one with just the right amount of action for its intended audience. The Octonauts started the audience off as cadets and they finished off as fully fledged Octonauts which my daughter was proud of.

We ‘joined them’ in a journey, mainly in the Octopod, deep beneath the sea to save any sea creatures at risk of harm from an impending under water volcano. There was a little lesson on what happens to lava beneath the sea (it turns into pumice stone) which was good. The show of sea creatures lit up by ultraviolet light was amazing and a nice addition. We loved the blob fish and were relieved when the missing one was found, they added some humour. There was a worrying time when we thought Captain Barnacles might be trapped but he was fine. I think this added the right amount of tension, not too scary and a little exciting.

There was some audience participation, you could tell the children enjoyed this. What child doesn’t like to shout at the top of their lungs sometimes?

It was great that the show was loud enough to hear, even above some restless children at times. This helped minimise disruption to others.

A very good show that was easy to understand and pitched at the right level.

We had a lovely time.

Rating: 4/5

The Octopod has now departed from Brighton but continues its tour until 5 July 2015. For more information, tour dates, venues or to book tickets visit www.octonautslive.co.uk.

For other shows at the Theatre Royal in Brighton visit www.atgtickets.com/brighton.

Theatre Royal. New Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1SD | 0844 871 7650

4 Star

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