I can’t possibly start this review of Peppa Pig Live: Peppa Pig’s Adventure any way other than by saying how much my 17 month old loved it.
At previous shows we’ve taken her siblings to she’s often clapped along with the applause and enjoyed looking at all the lights but then either fed or slept through most of it.
In this morning’s production at the New Theatre Royal however, Faith was fully engaged throughout smiling, giggling, sat forward and focused on the stage, jiggling her body in excitement.
Including an interval it wasn’t a short show either but, as Willow’s first words 10 seconds after the curtain fell were “again, again”, it clearly thoroughly entertained my three year old too who was also a guest of the theatre.
And the delighted noises coming from the other mini audience members as their favourite characters came on stage for the first time in the show that encompasses a range of puppetry techniques meant they certainly weren’t alone in their enjoyment.
As well as Peppa, George, Pedro, Suzy and Gerald, the pre-school favourite was recreated faithfully through the bold colourful set and omniscient voice over. Black-clad puppeteers maneuvered the smaller characters whilst Daddy Pig, Mummy Pig and Madame Gazelle could contain their actors inside the costumes. They were joined by Daisy, a new girl starting at their school for her first day and joining them on their school camping trip.
There was, of course, plenty of opportunity for interaction and clapping, singing and dancing along which the young viewers took every advantage of.
Older audience members were equally charmed by the nighttime scene and the fireflies, bats and owls as well as the fun torchlight shadow play.
Water sprays added a delightful 4d theatre experience as a rain shower allowed Peppa and her friends to indulge in their love of jumping in muddy puddles.
I’ve already had several requests to “see show again” but next time can we have Danny Dog and Candy Cat too please?
Find out where else Peppa is performing at Peppa Pig Live!
The next children’s theatre show coming up at the New Theatre Royal in Lincoln is Dinosaur World Live, June 22nd-24th.
The logistics of the day mean that Peppa and Daisy’s song about enjoying the great outdoors and the characters delight in their camping trip was our #30DaysWild activity of the day and it certainly fuelled my 3 year old’s desire to sleep under canvas again soon.
Have you been doing the Bookstart Bird Boogie this week?
This evening our county’s weekly Twitter hour saw our discussion focus on this week’s 
I asked if anyone else had used cloth nappies, sharing a photo of some of our reusable wardrobe.
Earlier in the week we visited ![HYKO9907[1]](https://theminimalpicouk.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/hyko99071.jpg?w=248&h=331)
The garden centre was giving them out to competitive families vying to grow the tallest flower as part of 
From courting as teenagers to taking our mini ones to run off some of their seemingly endless energy, 
This is the third year I’ve taken part in the 
Interaction is always key in any children’s event but there are also dedicated workshops to make sure your mini one’s own imagination takes centre stage including a fantasy writing workshop with Gareth Baker (recommended ages 8-12) and the chance to make a concertina stand-up book (all ages). Author and illustrator Julia Patton will also be helping Newark Library launch the 
And it’s not surprising that at a book festival the love of reading itself becomes the subject of events. Little Red Reading Hood by Lucy Rowland and Ben Mantle sounds a perfect title for little literary lovers and, for us older ones who still hold fairytales close 
to our hearts, Lucy Mangan’s Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading (among the many adults events on offer) will see the author and her interviewer Tina Bettison “take a trip down a rabbit hole and a visit to Narnia” as “she relives our best-loved books, their extraordinary creators and looks at the thousand subtle ways they shape our lives”.