On Friday we went to In The Night Garden Live! It’s the third time we’ve been actually so I knew just what to expect! Florence was a big fan of the show from very early on and we took her at the end of July 2011 when she was just a year and a half old. Looking back at the date and it must have quite literally been a week before I got pregnant with Jimmy! That was Florence’s first experience of the giant show dome where the live show is performed! Inside what can only be described as a big blow up bubble is where all the magic happens and she loved it!

Last year in June 2012 and we just had to go again. Of course this time we had our tiny month old baby Jimmy with us too! I remember the day was SO hot and I’d wondered if that big blown up bubble inside the o2 would be far to stifling but the air con was on and again, we absolutely loved it! Last year we even went for a meet and greet with Iggle Piggle afterwards! Florence, who has a superb memory, has talked about that day ever since and whenever we go past North Greenwich on the Jubilee line she says ‘Look, that’s where we saw In The Night Garden!’

I did think that this year Florence might be just a little old for the live show. She’s not really interested in watching it on television these days so I thought Jimmy, at one, could have a treat on his own. But… When Florence got wind of the fact that we were going she was very clear when she said she might not be keen on the TV show anymore but for the live one, she was very up for going again. I really don’t think it’s a case of her just wanting what her brother was having because there’s been other occasions and she hasn’t minded at all, she just remembered how much she enjoyed it and wanted to come so why not!

So, a year after Jimmy went for the first time at a month old and nearly two years after we went for the very first time, we made our way to the show dome once more!

We loved it of course!

The show is a mixture of projections on the walls and roof of the show dome, video on the back drop, puppeteers operating small characters and people in life size costumes dressed up. It’s tremendously clever and well choreographed. One thing I noticed that I hadn’t paid attention to before is that the puppeteers also do all the set changes but it’s not a simple bring on prop, take off prop. It’s done in such a super interesting way involving synchronised dancing and many clever techniques!

The show is magical! I promise you it’s utterly magical and Jimmy was mesmerised! It lasts an hour and you sit on steps rather than designated seats so for a one year old it’s perfect. They can even get up and have a bit of a wander although Jimmy didn’t get scratchy until towards the end and sat very happily entranced on my knee. Florence joined in with all the songs we know so well, waved her light up wand and thoroughly got into it!

It follows the format of the programme. The story, where Iggle Piggle has lost his blanket (we saw the Ninky Nonk show, there is also a Pinky Ponk show) is played out before a re-cap at the end and then everybody gets tucked up in bed… Of course there’s always somebody not in bed though!

Great show again and even though I’ve seen it before I actually think it had a new element, they must have refreshed it as I didn’t remember lots of little bits and pieces! It’s delightful for little ones and although I would say the tickets are on the pricey side, especially as babies need a ticket (babies under 6 months go half price), I think it’s thoroughly worth it. One thing I really wasn’t impressed with was the price of balloons. We all know the merchandise is expensive at these things and the light up wands at £6 aren’t cheap but the balloons were extortionate at £8 for the Pinky Ponk one (They do have a smaller one for £4 but still)! The light up wands are actually very good quality and we still had ours from last year that we took along but paying £8 for a balloon and I just can’t justify that! We bought a huge one at Peppa Pig for £5 which I thought was expensive but do-able and I suppose you could get the small one for £4 but I really do think they need to re-think the price of balloons because it’s disappointing for children that it pushes an already expensive outing into the realms of ridiculous! £8 could be a nice meal in a restaurant! I persuaded Florence that we didn’t need a balloon and we bought a helium filled balloon in a shop in Westfield on the way home for £2.20. More like it! I’m sure they’d sell more if they made them more affordable!

So, aside from the balloon prices I think In The Night Garden is fab and definitely worth a visit. Even if you’ve been before and even if you think an older one might be past the In The Night garden stage!

The show dome is the same wherever the venue but we really like it at the o2. Outside they have a few fountains that children can run in and out of and we had great fun on the way home too!

For tour dates and tickets please see the website www.nightgardenlive.com.

I was not paid to write this post but I was provided with tickets for the purpose of review.