This day I love.......: Show

I was provided with complimentary tickets to see the performance in exchange for a review.

Last weekend the girls and I headed over to Elsecar Heritage centre as we had been invited to watch a performance of Edgar- A Hidden Life. With the show most suitable to the over 10s Little Man had gone to play at his Grandma's house and so it was just me and my girls. We arrived in plenty of time so made the most of Elsecar park whilst we waited.

Edgar - A hidden Life is written by Daniel Foulds and is based on the true story of Edgar Bower. Edgars story is one of secrets and shame, poverty and prejudice but also highlights the power of love. Edgar spends more than half a century hidden away in silence until social worker Lily Fletcher sets about to unlock the secrets of his past.

The play is part of the Hidden history project which brings to life true stories of historical characters from Yorkshire. The performance is all outdoors and set in three heritage venues in Bradford, Elsecar and Halifax throughout July. As the event is outdoors it is important to dress for the weather and wear comfortable shoes as you do walk around as the story unfolds.

Edgar's story was quite complex and required a basic understanding of history. The girls didn't know what an asylum was for example or about the treatment of people with mental health problems in the past. Having a little bit of an understanding helped you to emphasize more with Edgar and gave the story a bit more context. I was certainly glad I had left Little Man at home because the girls at 9 and 10 struggled to understand at some points.

Personally I found the story very gripping, you wanted to know what would happen to Edgar. You also want to know if the story unfolding is what actually happened. Having the performance outdoors and within the grounds of the heritage centre added something special to the performance and made it seem and feel much more real.

There was absolutely no pressure to participate in the final part of the show, in fact my eldest daughter didn't want to and said no. My youngest however jumped at the chance to join in.

The girls enjoyed the show and it was great to do something a little different. Everything felt COVID safe as we were asked to wear masks and the whole performance was outside. I did have to explain some parts to the girls, as mentioned previously, but they said they enjoyed themselves. I thought it was a great performance and I immediately came home and googled Edgar Bower!

Thank you for inviting us!

No comments

Tickets were provided in exchange for review

This weekend we headed over to Cast in Doncaster to watch Odd Doll theater Company production of Whisker’s First Winter. Odd Doll theater are a Yorkshire based company who are known for using physical storytelling, handcrafted puppetry, original music and distinctive design in their highly visual and accessible theater performances. Whisker’s is the companies fifth production and will be touring nationally in 2020.

Whisker’s First Winter is aimed at children aged 2-6 and so I was a little worried what the girls aged 7 and 9 would think. Nonetheless we were looking forward to the performance and headed over to the theater door. We were politely asked to remove our shoes, which we did and then entered the Winter wonderland. We were initially greeted by a man in a ski mask, which if I am honest felt rather odd, especially since he seemed to sit at the side of the stage for the entire performance and not move. Could he perhaps have worn something more friendly?

There are no assigned seats and we struggled to find 5 seats together, I would recommend getting there as early as possible. Finding two remaining white cushions and giving them to my youngest two children. My Mum, my eldest and I sitting on the hard step. It was rather a tight squeeze and not the most comfortable of surface to sit on. The set however was stunning. A white winter wonderland lay in front of us and the two performers were blowing snow around the theater. The whole set felt magical.

The performance lasts for 45 minutes and there is no interval. The performers themselves are incredibly talented, telling the story using movement only is an amazing skill but I did wonder if Little Man at 3 years old understood some of the references. I am not sure he understood when Whiskers was playing in the snow for example, or when he was standing on ice. At certain points he did look to be concentrating very hard and trying to work out what was happening. My Mum said after that perhaps a narrator would have been a good idea, not necessarily for the whole show but in certain parts to just help the younger audience members to understand the story better.

The show is brought to life with the use of music and lights and this does aid in telling the story. Little Man seemed to enjoy the fish the most, reaching out and trying to touch them although I am not sure he understood why there were fish there. I think the pace of the show was just right for him and I would say 3-4 years is perhaps the best age to enjoy the show. Regardless of age I think everyone enjoyed meeting the characters after the show and giving Whisker a high five.

No comments

You may have read about our visit to William’s Den recently for the Christmas Den Experience, it was here that I met The Magic Hatter. He invited my children and I to watch his Christmas show in York. A family festive fun show full of magic and wonder, what is not to love. Especially when my eldest daughter loves magic tricks, I knew this would be a treat for them all to enjoy.

We made the short journey over to York one afternoon to a place called the Hive. I wasn’t sure what to expect and neither did the children, but they spotted Father Christmas walking across the car park and so were eager to follow him inside.

After a short wait we entered the theater, our seats were on the back row but we could still see the stage. We spotted The Magic Hatter making his way through the crowd saying hello and greeting people as they entered. I thought this was such a lovely thing to do and it made everyone feel very welcome indeed.

The set had a very definite Christmas theme to it. A log fire place, a warm cosy chair and plenty of Christmas decorations. The show began and the magic hatter introduced us to his elf who would assist throughout the performance. You could feel a buzz of excitement throughout the theater and immediately all the children were gripped.

I can’t remember the last time I watched a show which captivated children of all ages as much as this did. It soon became clear the Magic Hatter has rather a lot of hats, perhaps even more than I do and that is saying something. I was waiting to see what hat would come next, and even some of them I wanted to google to find out where they were from.

My eldest daughter was watching all the magic tricks very closely, she said afterwards that they were soooo good Mummy I couldn’t figure them out. I think that is high praise indeed. She has talked endlessly about the mouse from the show. I guess I know which her favourite bit was. Her fear got to her however as she wanted to take part in the section of the show which asked for volunteers. Magic tricks are her thing and one day she will be brave enough to volunteer. She is disappointed in herself for not putting herself forward, I think more so that the ones who did got a little memento.

As for Little Man, well, at three years old I wasn’t sure how much of the show he would follow or for that matter understand but I have never heard him laugh and giggle as much as he did watching the Magic Hatter. In fact if The Magic Hatter lived closer I would honestly hire him for a birthday party for my son, he had him that entertained. The show captivated him. Watching his face as candy canes appeared from nothing was wondrous. His giggle was infectious. He just loved it.

The show is a good mix of humour, festive fun and magic. It is suitable for children of all ages and as entertainers go The Magic Hatter is simply first class. I would definitely recommend watching the Magic Hatter Christmas show next year but be quick because tickets do sell out fast, I am not surprised either it was fantastic.

Thank you for inviting us to the show.

No comments

I love spending time with Little Man. In April he starts nursery and up until recently this has seemed quite far away. It dawned on me this week that it is actually a lot closer than I think, especially given there are only two weeks left of the school year. It makes me feel quite sad that we won't be spending every day together as we always have done. I am trying to make our time together count, well count more than it does as I am really going to miss my little sidekick when he starts nursery.

When an invite came to watch 'Twelve birds of Christmas' I jumped at the opportunity. Two years ago I took the girls to watch Twelve birds of Christmas but Little Man was too young to fully understand what was happening. I, on the other hand, can remember the performance and can remember how much fun it was. I could not wait.

This time the performance was at a new location. The Handmade theatre company have their very own studio based in Nottingham and it was here where we would watch the show. Little Man and I had fun spotting lorries and his highlight of the journey was when we stopped at a railway crossing. After 90 minutes we arrived at the studio.

We took our seats in our nest, just as we had done two years ago. Little Man began to take in his surroundings and listened to the music whilst we waited for the show to start.

The show was as I had remembered, interactive and very welcoming. Little Man surprised me at how involved he got as he does have a tendency to act shy in new situations. He said hello to the birds as they came around and even started dancing with the songs.

Little Man loved watching the different birds come and visit the nest.

He loved that he was free to move around the nest. He would sit with me under a blanket and then get up and dance. He moved around and walked and wasn't ever told to sit still, he loved that he could get involved.

Every time I watch the Twelve birds of Christmas it feels slightly different. Sure the basic story is the same but the atmosphere changes. The audience changes it. The space it is performed in changes it. The show evolves. Audiences react differently to different parts of the show and the interaction changes each time.

Whilst I may have seen the show before I would still go and see it again, because each audience changes the actual performance. The cast are simply fantastic and adapt to these changes professionally and integrate them into the show seamlessly.

The Christmas Turkey made an appearance and was rather excited about Christmas. Little Man loved him. Laughing and giggling when he saw him. He was given a carrot to feed the turkey but instead discovered the carrot fitted perfectly in a gap in the nest. Which just goes to show how the show can change quickly!

As always with Handmade theatre company there is plenty of singing and dancing. Plenty of audience participation but none of it is ever forced. It's a really relaxed and stress free show, which makes it perfect for young children.

I would love to take the girls to see the show again, as I would love to see how they interact with it now they are older. Little Man at two years old simply loved it, and whilst the picture may be a little blurry I think you can see how happy he is!

If you are able to travel to Nottingham I would highly recommend the Handmade theatre company an their productions, in two years they have never failed to entertain my children and always leave them with huge smiles! Check out their current productions here

Thank you to the handmade theatre company for inviting us, we had a fantastic time.

All words are my own and honest opinion.

No comments

Facebook very kindly reminded me that this time last year we visited Waterside Arts centre in Manchester to watch a production of The Bear by Raymond Briggs. The girls remembered it too, telling me all about the play. I was surprised at how much they remembered. This year we were off to see Father Christmas, adapted from the Raymond Briggs book of the same name and produced by the same company who had done the Bear last year.

Our car journey was less eventful this year, google redirected us around an accident that would have added an extra hour on top of our journey time and we actually made it on time and with over an hour to spare. We even managed to make the photos this year!

The girls were excited for their milk and cookies like last time and we took our seats on the front row. That was a bit nerve racking, but worth it. I was unsure how Little Man would cope as the show is recommended from ages 3 and up, he is 2 and half, but actually he really enjoyed it and joined in quite a bit.

The show was blooming magical [You'll understand if you have read the book]. The girls were captivated from start to finish. Laughing and really taking in the whole show. There was so much attention to detail it was just fantastic and it kept everyone entertained. It was lovely listening to the children in the audience gasp in excitement and surprise at key points in the show. It showed how involved everyone was. I don't want to ruin the surprises of the performance so all I will say is it is magical.

The performance is incredibly clever how it is both carried out and how it has been thought through. I enjoyed the elements which mixed in the puppetry and thought this was really well done. I might have a secret soft spot for the dog, wonder if I can bring him home with me?

Before we knew it it was time to leave. Our milk drunk, cookie eaten and our cheeks hurting from all the smiles and laughing. It had been a wonderful family evening together but now it was time for me to do the long drive home.

Thank you to waterside for inviting us, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Father Christmas is showing up until the 31st December at varies times, see their website for full details.

No comments

I honestly cannot remember the last time I went to the circus. I mean I can remember going, it was the time when animals still featured heavily in the shows and of course clowns too. I can remember sitting on wooden benches in a cold tent and eating popcorn as the show unfolded in front of me. I cannot remember taking the children, and they cannot remember visiting before, which made our recent trip very exciting.

We travelled around 45 minutes to York to visit The Paulos Circus. The large pink tent was easy to spot from the A1237 and had plenty of free parking. We arrived 40 minutes before the start of the show. Having reserved our tickets in advance we were able to collect from the box office. People had already started to arrive for the next show, and were queueing to book tickets as the 4.30pm show was fully booked. I would recommend coming early for tickets but also because you choose your own seats, so arriving early gives you more seating options.

There was a real magical feeling inside the tent. Warm string lights, a soft mist on the circus floor and stars lined the sky. I was surprised at how warm it was inside and we all settled into our seats to watch the performance.

With hindsight I wish we had arrived earlier for better seats, but we were still excited and looking forward to the show. A countdown began.

The show began and I began to realise what a bad choice I had made in seats. My daughter who was sat at the side of me could see and I instead watched the show via the shadows on the tent roof and the expressions on my children. They were engrossed. They hid when the performers were performing stunts blindfolded, watching instead through the gaps in their fingers.

The show lasted for an hour and ten minutes and had no interval, but we didn't notice the time as it simply flew by. We were treated to traditional performances like juggling and knife throwing, more modern performances with lasers and of course some high flying stunts and acrobatics.

There was a buzz in the tent before the final act. The tightrope walk.

The girls watched through the gaps in their fingers again. In complete awe at the skill from each performer. I don't think they could quite believe what they were seeing.

The show came to an end, it in no way felt like over an hour had gone past and the girls would have happily sat and watched more. Little Man at 2 years old was just as captivated by what he could see, plus the show had bubbles. What 2 year old doesn't love bubbles?

No sooner had we left than the girls were asking when we could come again. I asked them their favourite parts my youngest daughter said she liked the bum wig and 'no music here' [You will have to go see the show to see what she means], my eldest said she liked the red spinning rings the best. I always have admiration for any acrobatics and stunts so personally its hard for me to pick a favourite part but I think Los Sanchez might have stole the show for me.

I only have 2 regrets, the first is we didn't get there early so we had limited choice in seating and the second is I didn't take my proper camera. I had to use my phone and whilst they are ok images I know they could be much better.

The girls would love to visit again and I would love to take them. For full details of The Paulos circus visit their Facebook page .

Our tickets were provided in exchange for this review, all words are my own personal opinion.

No comments

The girls went to school today thinking it would just be a normal day. I on the other hand have been excited all day to pick them up from school. As usual the girls asked if we were doing anything in the playground and when I told them they were bouncing all the way home.

We had a rather quick dinner as we needed to travel to Leeds in rush hour traffic, but the rushing was all worth it for the surprise that greeted us

Little Man couldn't wait in line and was eager to meet Mickey Mouse, until the moment we got to the front of the queue. He then got scared and his big sister scooped him up. As soon as we walked away he wanted to go back again!

After pondering over the choices of popcorn, sweets and candy floss we finally took our seats. The girls were excited for the show to start and Little Man was just excited to eat popcorn. He didn't want to share though!

The show started with a warm up and Little Man started dancing. Mickey and friends then took to the ice and Little Man started pointing and clapping. The show started and we were transported through a variety of Disney worlds.

Little Man really got into the show and danced and clapped throughout, there are videos of him on my Instagram if you want to take a look. Both girls loved the show too and were singing along to their favourite songs.

As you would expect the show was great family entertainment, with all three of my children [ages 2 to 7] loving the performance. My youngest kept asking when she could ride in the boat, and my eldest kept pretending to be 'too old' for Disney, but she was loving every second!

We all had a fantastic evening and time seemed to fly by far too fast. We couldn't quite believe it when the show ended, it felt like it had only just began but sure enough it was time to head back out into the cold and to the car to make our way home.

The girls were still excited when we got in the car to go home. Each saying they had a fantastic evening. All the dancing had tired out Little Man who soon fell asleep.

We were provided tickets to see Disney On Ice, all words are my own opinion.

No comments

A few weeks ago I received an exciting invitation, an invitation inviting me and the children to the opening night of the Bear, by Pins and needles productions, at the Waterside Arts centre in Manchester. I checked the time and worked out that a 6.30pm arrival was more than doable, given it only takes an hour to travel to Manchester.

I had forgotten my days working in Manchester. Leaving at 4am and sometimes making it to work by 8.30 and sometimes turning up late, clearly the horrendous rush hour trip had been forgotten. We left at 3.45, that should have given us plenty of time. I had figured we would get there on time and have a nice look around before the show began, how wrong was I? It took 3 hours and 18 minutes to get to Manchester. I know from past experience that some performances once they start you cannot go in to watch and I was hoping that this would not be the case. Over 3 hours in the car with three over excited children was not a fun journey. At one point my youngest decided she was too hot and attempted to remove her jumper. This resulted in her with one arm inside her jumper and the other stuck at an angle through the neck hole next to her head. Why do kids do this on the motorway and in traffic??

Anyways, after the screaming stopped, and the arm was free, we arrived a few minutes late and ran from the car park to Waterside. Having never been before it was also a frantic follow google maps to get us to our destination. The sense of relief when we were allowed in to watch the show was immense, and we had missed less than 5 minutes. Phew.

The Bear is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Raymond Briggs. It is co-directed by Hal Chambers and Emma Earle and starred Leigh Quinn as Tilly with puppeteers Lori Hopkins who also played Mum and Maxwell Tyler who also played Dad.

It didn't take long for the girls to settle in to their seats and for Little Man to become mesmerised in all the shapes and colours on stage. The Bear made his appearance and then all 3 were hooked. Fixated on the story as it began to unfold in front of them. Watching the Bear get up to lots of tricks, watching Tilly take care of the bear and simply enjoying themselves. The hour flew by. The children laughed lots and loved the story. It was a real festive treat for them.

The next morning both girls chatted away about the show on the school run, and even made a point of taking their tickets into school for show and tell. If that's not a sign of a good night I am not sure what is.

The Bear runs until Saturday 6 January, with schools and public performances (times vary – go to thebearlive.com for a full breakdown) and is recommended for children between 3 and 11.

British Sign Language (BSL) performances: 9 & 22 December

Relaxed Performance: 22 December

No comments

I cannot believe that in a weeks time my eldest daughter starts junior school! I can remember junior school. Everything from lessons to the teachers and the games we played. I was one of the eldest in my class but my eldest daughter is one of the youngest and celebrates her birthday in the school holidays. As the majority of her friends are away we always try and go out for the day to somewhere a bit special and this year we went to Nottingham to see Paw Patrol Live.

It is rare that I can find something that keeps all 3 of my children entertained at the same time, but Paw Patrol Live managed this. My youngest daughter at 5 is Paw Patrol obsessed so she was shouting and cheering along with the story. Her face at the interval was an absolute picture, both out of excitement for the rest of the story and her processing how the first part of the story unfolded. My eldest was enjoying the story line and the fact it was her birthday. She was joining in and cheering. The show was incredibly engaging and had lots of moments for the audience to participate in, I felt the show went rather quickly and it no where near felt as long as it should have.

Little Man was completely engrossed. For a child that refuses to watch TV, unless it is a game show, I was remarkably impressed.

All 3 of my children left with huge smiles on their faces after a really amazing performance. It was onward after the arena to a Paw Patrol surprise party for my eldest daughter.

She had no idea we had planned a surprise for her afterwards. We had put up paw patrol bunting and decorated the main table with paw patrol decorations and table cloth. There were dog themed cup cakes and treats, as well as Paw Patrol table ware.

Everything we needed for a perfect Paw Patrol surprise party. We even had Paw Patrol goodies in our party bags, which of course were Paw Patrol themed. All our Paw Patrol party supplies had been sent from Party Delights.

My eldest had the perfect Paw Patrol birthday, with everything from watching them live to a surprise themed party. What more could she have asked for?

With thanks to Party delights for sending the party supplies and to Paw Patrol Live for sending us tickets so she could see the show.

No comments

About me

Follow Us

Popular

Brands