Hey Duggee At The Lighthouse, Poole Review

Reviewed by Lisa

Heeeeey Duggee! I took my 2.5 year old to watch the stage production of Hey Duggee this afternoon, and we had an amazing time! From the scenery being simple and colourful, to the clever way Kenny Wax Family Entertainment produced the show with fun audience participation, my little boy was laughing, clapping and dancing along the whole time.

The show opens introducing all the characters, who are large puppets being controlled by people on the stage. The commentator is on the stage, also handling the Duggee puppet, and he had the exact voice that you hear on the TV, really bringing the character to life. They all did great jobs imitating the voices and you didn’t really notice the people as the puppets were so eye catching. The story was about the Squirrels wanting to produce a theatre show, but not knowing how to do it. Duggee has his Theatre badge though, and knows they need to make costumes, sing, and dance, so they work towards these badges first and along the way they also get their Egg and Space badges. As we entered the theatre we were given a sticker sheet with these different badges on, and the audience all became Squirrels and got a sticker version of the badge every time the Squirrels on stage completed one. I thought this was a genius idea and it helped keep my little one engaged. The only thing I would say is the stickers weren’t very good quality and fell off his top almost immediately each time, so I kept having to hunt for them and try to stick them back on him! We got to take part in each activity though, dancing in our chairs, making sounds for the A Cappella badge, hunting for eggs on the stage, and then there was our personal favourite – the Space badge. It started with Duggee looking through a telescope at the planets, and suddenly the planets came to life in giant coloured balls that all came out into the audience to bounce around. There was a rocket on stage, and the place was filled with stars swirling around us making it truly magical.

After we had earned all our badges to be able produce a show, the Squirrels and Duggee performed a song and dance in their costumes, and we all got our Theatre badge! The only part I wasn’t so keen on was when the lady sang quite a long song for the Singing badge, and we couldn’t decipher the words she was singing. The show lasted for just under an hour in total which was a perfect length for this age, with no interval, and I would say it is aimed at 2.5-5 year olds. We saw the show at Poole Lighthouse, which is in a great location with a car park next door and a bus and train station only a few minutes away. The theatre is fairly small, so even though we had seats nearer the back, we could see perfectly, and every time we have been here it has been welcoming, clean and tidy.

Overall, we had a brilliant time and it seemed that everyone around us felt the same. When I asked my son which was his favourite bit he said “All of it!” with a big smile on his face. It was well presented, interactive, bright and fun – just what you want for toddlers when bringing their favourite TV characters to life! I would definitely recommend seeing this if you can and I think Duggee would agree – A-Woof!

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost between £14.58 – £20.08 for a child and £20.08 – £25.58 for an adult
For more information or to book tickets please visit their website – www.lighthousepoole.co.uk or ring the box office on 01202 280000.

Address: Lighthouse, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset. BH15 1UG.