Adaptor: Matthew Xia and Vicky Stone
Director: Matthew Xia
Hey Duggee Live is a brand new theatre show featuring everyone’s favourite characters from the CBeebies pre-school series. The show features songs and stories from the programme performed live on stage. It’s like a pop concert for kids aged 2-5, along with audience participation!
Hey Duggee, the animated series, first hit our screens in 2014, with a second series commissioned in 2016, and has gone on to win numerous awards and accolades including 6 BAFTAs and Emmys.
At the start of the show our favourite characters appear one at a time. Nori (Jane Crawshaw), Happy (Kaidyn Niall Hinds), Roly (Clarke Joseph-Edwards), Tag (Vinnie Monachello), and Bette (Sarah Palmer) in the form of enormous puppets which elicits a roar of excitement from the baying young crowd.
The genius of this live production is handing “Badge” stickers to all the children on the way into the theatre, so they can earn their badges along with Duggee (Benedict Hastings) and the Squirrels.
Together we all earn our Egg, A cappella (boots and cats and boots and cats), singing, space, choreography, costume and ultimately our theatre badges, along the way meeting other favourite personalities including Mrs Weaver, Hennie, Chew Chew, Chipo, Boris and of course Mr and Mr Crab, all ably performed by the chameleon performer Lunga Anele-Skosana, who is a vocal power house and embodies each character with great commitment and energy.
The challenge of entertaining children in such a vast venue is well met. The puppets are huge, colourful and allow for plenty of movement so the dance routines feel sleek but easy enough for young dance fans to imitate. The set, lights and projections work perfectly and the space scene is a real highlight.
The only downside to the production was the sound level on the music was so high, that at times the characters became inaudible. This did nothing to dampen the young audiences spirits though, and one little reviewer didn’t sit down for the entire show.
With lots of songs we all recognise including Step by Step and of course The Stick Song, this production is sure to have your little theatre goer rocking in the aisles.
Runs until 18th March 2023.
