Well! It’s been a long, long two years and we have finally made it back to the theatre for the first time since you-know-what hit. And what a pleasure it was! We went to see Kitchen Zoo’s latest production, ‘The Three Bears’ at one of my absolute favourite theatres, Northern Stage. Zak doesn’t remember being at the theatre before (the last show he saw was ‘WOLF!’ when he was 19 months old), but he had an absolute ball. But what also impressed us was how much 13-week-old Sage enjoyed it. She was mesmerised by the lights, sounds and giant bears! Anyway, without further ado, here’s what we thought…
What’s it about?
Deep in the forest, Mammy, Daddy and Baby Bear are preparing for winter. Each day The Three Bears head off into the woods to collect interesting things they can re-use for their house.
As winter arrives, their cosy home is turned upside down by a colourful whirlwind that threatens to sit in their chairs, eat their porridge and fall asleep in their beds – it’s Goldilocks!
Who’s it for?
Now, the show is aimed at children under 5. Whilst ‘The Three Bears’ is absolutely written for this age group, there was a wide range of ages in the audience and I reckon any child up to about 8 would really enjoy seeing it. The show is punctuated with singing and dancing and audience participation is thoroughly encouraged, so there are plenty of opportunities for little ones to get up and work out those wiggles.
What did we love?
Where should I start?! There are so many things to love about ‘The Three Bears.’
The team at Kitchen Zoo are absolute geniuses when it comes to writing original shows that are as entertaining for little ones as they are for the adults accompanying them. Throughout the show, Laura and I both found ourselves laughing out loud, whilst Zak laughed hysterically when Goldilocks was running away from the bear family.
One thing that I loved about this show was that it was performed ‘in the round.’ The stage was in the middle of Stage 3, which is Northern Stage’s smallest performance space. This meant that everyone had a brilliant view and all the children were able to get front row access to the show.
As with all the Kitchen Zoo performances we’ve been to see, a real highlight is getting to meet the cast after the show, including Goldilocks, the mischievous puppet character.
What did we not like?
Honestly, there is nothing I can put here. We loved the whole experience.
Would we go again?
Without a shadow of a doubt! Laura and I love going to the theatre and we’re very keen to instil this love in our children. In fact, we’ve already booked to go to the next Kitchen Zoo show, ‘The Tin Foil Astronaut.’
Where and when can you see it?
‘The Three Bears’ is being performed at Northern Stage until 13th November 2021. Tickets are still available and can be purchased through the Northern Stage website.
We were given complimentary tickets to see ‘The Three Bears’ in exchange for an honest review.
