When I was a child, I loved the huge hit film Babe The Sheep Pig. It was a film which I have fond childhood memories off. Recently I found out that Babe the theater production was coming to Southampton. I was excited to be asked to attend the opening show with Ben and Maxwell.
As soon as we headed into Nuffield Theatre to watch the show, we were greeted with a farm yard scene. On stage, there were several sheep, ready to entertain the audience. The sheep kept the audience laughing and engaged and soon it was time for the show to start. As soon as the show started, we were greeted with upbeat music and after a while, we were introduced to Babe.
The farm yard set up was interchangeable and as a whole it was impressive to see how well the scenes were changed throughout the show without very little movement of props. The scenes were made even more impressive with the help of things such as hay bales which turned into televisions and simple props like hats and microphones to turn sheep into hosts of a huge sporting event.
All the cast wear fantastic sheep costumes which are changeable throughout the show however there are a few characters which are not played by a member of the cast and are created in a special way. There are loud wooden talking ducks which are moved around by the cast, Mother Ewe who is made from a wheelbarrow as well as barking sheep dogs which are small puppets which look cute and cuddly. Finally there is also Babe who is a puppet. At first I was sceptical to hear that Babe was a puppet however as the show went on, I forgot that Babe was a puppet and at times I thought Babe could be mistaken for a real pig.
The puppetry skills were simply amazing and I feel that other theater productions need to step back and see that the use of puppetry can work in theater shows. Through the show we were also greeted by a big scary wolf. The wolf's puppet like costume was simply amazing. The huge metal, flexible costume was built around a member of the cast. The wolf's costume was a huge standout point. Overall the cast and the costumes were simply amazing. You were able to see that a lot of care was taken to design the costumes to make the show move so quickly and easily.
The sound quality of the show was good and the volume of the show was at a good level. At times, we did miss a few key words said to us by the cast due to the accents of the cast members however this is not a huge problem.
The running time of the show was not to long. I often worry that when we take Maxwell to a show that he will become tired, fall asleep and he will not enjoy having a late night however this was not the case. The show lasted 1 hour 45 mins and there was only 1 small break which allowed us to enjoy some refreshments.
As a whole the show is bold, fun and entertaining. There is a lot of music and sing song and there are opportunities for the audience to get involved. Maxwell loved the show and equally Ben and I also loved the show. Maxwell did get a little upset over the fact the wolf scene in the show was quite dark, scary and death was shown however Maxwell loved the show and did not mention the scene after the show.
If you are interested in watching the show, you are able to watch it at the Nuffield Theatre in Southampton until the 04 June 2017. You are able to book tickets here. Tickets are priced from £10.
