Review: Walking With Dinosaurs, Birmingham NIA
Not having seen many real live dinosaurs recently, it's hard to say exactly what they look like, how they move and what noises they make.
But after viewing last night's Walking with Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular at Birmingham's NIA, I now have a pretty good idea.
Step aside Steven Spielberg, the creative minds behind this show managed to bring these prehistoric monsters back to life in a more awe-inspiring and memorable way than any film, TV programme or museum exhibition has managed before.
The set is deceptively simple; just a few rocks, which move position to demonstrate the shifting landscapes over the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous time periods, and a forest of inflatable palm trees, grasses and flowers, which appear and disappear as the time period demands. But it provided the perfect backdrop for the stars of the show, the dinosaurs themselves.
The show is narrated by an actor who plays palaeontologist Huxley. He remains on stage throughout and guides us through the time periods, filling us in on facts and figures, remaining interesting and engaging throughout.
He starts off by showing us a clutch of dinosaur eggs which, thanks to a couple of giant screens at the side of the stage, we see cracking and watch as tiny dinosaurs emerge. And as the first life-sized dino made its appearance on stage to try to snatch one of the newborns last night a child's voice rang out from the crowd with one word - 'wow!' - which perfectly summed up what the rest of the audience was thinking.
One by one the creatures plodded into stage - the giant herbivore brachiosaurus with its head towering above us, the stegosaurus and torosaurus with their impressive body armour and a host of others - all demonstrating convincing life-like movements right down to their blinking eyelids and rippling skin, thanks to a mix of expert puppetry and animatronics.
Music builds the tension as we see them fighting, protecting their young and, thankfully for the younger audience members who were already on the edge of their seats with apprehension and excitement, avoiding being eaten. Bloodshed may have been a step too far.
The arrival of ornithocheirus was particularly impressive as, with wings stretched to their full 12m span, it appeared to fly at speed before a swooping cinematic backdrop.
But the biggest highlight was the Tyrannosaurus Rex, who stomped on stage to the delight of most (and terror of some), roaring with all its might to scare off a couple of lesser beasts who had surrounded its young offspring. The youngster got the biggest laugh of the night as it tried to copy its mother's impressive roaring with a squeak. That and the huge pile of steaming dinosaur poo that we see Huxley delving into, that is.
Finally we reach the explosive end when a huge comet crashes into the Earth, leaving the dinosaurs extinct.
I'm sure there are plenty of younger members of the audience, however, who came away last night believing that not only do dinosaurs exist, they are alive and well and living in Birmingham. But even when that illusion is shattered, my guess is that they will be left with a basic knowledge about the reign of the dinosaurs that will stay with them for life.
Walking with Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular is on at the NIA until April 14.
Sally-Anne?Youll
