Monster show strolls into NIA

Lifesize prehistoric monsters have descended on the West Midlands in a spectacular new show.

Walking With Dinosaurs at Birmingham's NIA brings the fearsome creatures that died out 65 million years ago to life.

A towering tyrannosaurus rex, a hulking stegosaurus and two huge brachiosaurus are among the animatronic dinosaurs which prowl around the venue in the £10million spectacle, which started last night.

For the larger dinosaurs, it takes three people to control them, one driving it from a concealed box underneath the dinosaur, while two more people control its body movements and sound effects remotely from a rig high above the arena.

The dinosaurs, some of which are 36ft high and 56ft long and weighing more than a ton and a half, have been put together by scientists and puppetry experts for Australian firm The Creature Production Company, with the largely Australian 65-strong crew travelling the world with the tour.

Vanessa Ellis, the 'swing voodoo operator' who moves between the control decks, said: "There's been a few occasions of near misses and it is live theatre. I've got to be concentrating constantly."

The show's associate director Cameron Wenn said he often sat among the audience members in order to share their reactions.

"Seeing them experience it and hearing what they say is quite a thrill," he said. "I don't think we will ever see a real life dinosaur again but this is about as close as you will come."