Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom Stage Show Review

Given Little Man and his sister are much older than the toddler (there is a 10 & 7 year age gap) I know how fast it goes and I’m trying to make the Pre-school years as magical as possible for the toddler (and myself).

I know Harley is my last and there will be no more babies! Before I know it he will be off to school like his siblings and to be honest, I’ll be a tad sad.

We have created lots of magical memories of toddlerhood and just a few weeks back we added another of those memories to the list when myself, sister, niece and Harley went to see one of his favourite shows! Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom.

Yep, the live tour has kicked off and we got to see it during its first pit stop, when the stage of the Orchard Theatre Dartford Kent was transformed into a magical fairy kingdom.

The all too familiar theme tune played out as we took our seats and both toddlers ( Harley and niece Amy) could be heard excitedly cheering as they waved and jumped up and down in their seats as Princess Holly took to the stage.

I love these moments, the sheer happiness something so simple can bring to a toddlers life. Harley loves getting to see all of his favourite characters from the TV, only now, his forever requesting “Mum can we see them, please…please?”

The show was made up of a few of the episodes, only with extra scenes added on, in-order to make it that bit more lengthy and entertaining ( let’s not forget the TV episodes only last around 5 minutes each).

The set looked really magical and the show included full size costumes and for one scene beautiful puppets. All of the characters can be found in the show. There is of course Princess Holly and her best friend Ben Elf, plus… Nanny plum, the king, and not forgetting the wise old elf.

What we really loved about this particular show was how interactive it was. There were many fantastic songs that required the children to join in and mimic the actions. Both toddlers loved all this and didn’t need any encouragement from myself or my sister, to get up on their feet and join in.

We had an excellent Sunday morning watching the show and came home with some fabulous Ben and holly light up spinning wands and reading books . We found the merchandise really reasonably priced considering we were at a kids production and I’ve seen much more expensive items in the post.

Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom is brought to life in a truly magical performance. We highly recommend the show to families with little Ben and holly fans (even those who are not, are bound to be by the time the curtain goes down).

The Live stage show is running till July next year. Click Here for your dates and venues.

Review – In the Night Garden Live

I’m guessing every parent with a child under five is familiar with the names Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka!

In the Night Garden is a pre-school production toddlers just can’t get enough of. Yes, it graces the television screen in our house on a daily basis! So… when I heard that the live show was due to hit the big stage I knew the O2 would be on our destination list for this June.

Luckily I got given a fantastic opportunity… One to review the live show which has easily been the toddlers highlight to his year so far.

So, on the 1st June 2012 myself and Harley, along with my sister and 2 year old niece headed down to the O2 to check out the much talked about Show, In the Night Garden Live!

There is two different shows to chose from, The Ninky Nonk show or the Pinky Ponk show, we watched the latter.

The show itself is held within a specially designed enchanting show dome which is the perfect size, giving all children a perfect view of the stage. The whole experience has been designed to make it very child friendly and stress free, with buggy parking, baby changing & bottle warming facilities.

On arriving at the show dome you are greeted by giant inflatable Haahoos (these are located outside the dome so are free to see by all)! Inside the magic begins almost instantly. In-order to reach your seats your required to take a short walk through the beautiful lite dome, the sound of that all to familiar theme tune can be heard playing and children can be seen excitedly smiling and dancing about.

I loved how the children were not restricted to their seats but instead had plenty of room to more around and dance.There were so many magical moments designed to capture your little ones imagination, music, lighting and a wonderful projection show are just a few pieces of magic on offer. This is a show that consists of full costumes as well as beautifully designed puppets. The story itself is design in the exact same way as that of the TV production only longer (show last almost one hour, perfect for little ones).

Harley loved it when Makka Pakka was washing everyone’s faces then suddenly bubbles appeared everywhere. All the children could be heard giggling and cheering as they left their seats trying to catch the bubbles that were now flying above their heads. It was a wonderful touch that along with everything else made the whole experience very magical.

When buying show tickets you are given the option to purchase a meet and greet experience with one of the characters. As we had complementary tickets I worried a little that we would be unable to purchase this additional treat on the day. However staff were brilliant and we were slotted in to meet with Upsy Daisy.

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The meet and greet session cost an additional £15 for a family of five. This is 3 children and two adults. With the Meet and Greet you are provided with a photo and given the opportunity to buy additional copies at a really reasonable rate.

There was lots of show merchandise on offer and I felt there was something to suit everybody’s pocket. These light up windmills cost just £6 which I found pretty reasonable. Plus the show programme which is RRP at £6 comes complementary with the price of your ticket which I felt was a really lovely touch, one that many parents will appreciate.

I must also mention what a wonderful staff team they had working on the day that we visited. All were really helpful and great with the children. My niece had a bit of a dodgy windmill, one of the show assistants noticed, pointed it out and gave her another!

A truly wonderful day was had, it’s really hard to put into words how great a show this is. It’s for this reason I’ve created a video that shows the magic and enchantment of this wonderful show.

And here’s some news coverage on the event, including what the creator of the show has to say.

For show dates, time and ticket information visit the In the Night Garden Live website

In the Night Garden Live is showing at the O2 between the 24th May and the 9th June 2012

Disclaimer: This is not a paid review but we did receive a complementary family ticket to watch the show and share our honest opinion. All thoughts and words are that of my own.