I
have to admit that before I had children I vowed to be one
of those parents who wouldn’t let their child sit for
hours in front of the television when they could be doing
something far more productive. Instead we would view selected
programmes together and then give them a full critique afterwards. Yeah
Right!
I
still don’t have the television on all day, but I confess
my son watches it more than I thought I would allow, especially
over these winter months when by 3.30pm it is pitch black
and pouring with rain outside and we have exhausted our paints
and sticker supply. That said, his viewing is limited to chosen
DVD’s and Cbeebies.
I
ask the question – what did the world do before Cbeebies?
I have heard many a mother commenting how Cbeebies has saved
their bacon be it so they can make that all important phone
call or try and get some chores done. The presenters
become familiar faces and now that we own the Cbeebies Theme
Tune CD, there is no escape from it even in the car. I found
myself dreaming about “Paul” from “Tikkabilla”
the other evening which was perhaps a little worrying, but
then again it could have been about “Big Cook Ben”
or “Mr Tumble” so no need to send for the men
in white coats just yet.
I
digress. It is our son Cameron’s love for Cbeebies that
took us to Glasgow to see the Cbeebies stage show in early
January. We purchased the tickets after he successfully sat
through the Balamory production last October and figured it
would make for a nice family outing to celebrate the New Year.
The tickets were far from cheap at £17.50 per head, but we
were 6 rows from the front when we arrived at Glasgow’s
Armadillo arena and the place buzzed with the excitement of
eager pre-schoolers desperate to catch a glimpse of their
favourite Cbeebies characters.
Justin Fletcher and Sarah-Jane Honeywell, the bedrock of children’s
television bounded onto the stage with more energy than seemed
normal to present the show. I am guessing that an enthusiastic
toddler did not haul them out of bed at 6am that morning desperate
to head off to the show. I have always been a fan of Justin
Fletcher and find him very talented where as Sarah-Jane has
always grated a little and is perhaps more of a hit with the
Dads! That said, they were both excellent and whipped the
crowd up into a frenzy with cries of “Hello Glasgow”
and promises of all the treats that were in store.
The
stage layout was of a garden with a big screen at the back
featuring recorded images that went along with the show. In
the corner of the screen was a lady signing the performance
for the deaf.
The
show itself was based around the theme of the Cbeebies talent
show. Each Cbeebies character would come on and do a turn
and then there would be the rapturous finale. What a choice
of talent we had: Bob the Builder, Postman Pat and Jess, Fireman
Sam, Mr Tumble and the cast of the Roly Mo Show. There was
also Tamba from Tikkabilla (without Paul unfortunately,) Bill
and Ben Andy Pandy, The incredible honking Pingu, Boo and
the Tweenies with Doodles who were undoubtedly the stars of
the show.
Each
character gave a song and dance routine and the audience had
to applaud as loud as we could for it to register on the “Clap-o-Meter.
Cue lots of children clapping and cheering for their favourite
characters. Of course, in the end everyone was a winner so
they all had to perform together for the grand finale.
Cameron thought the music was very loud which he found a little
unsettling but some of the older pre-schoolers were happily
dancing and clapping along. Personally, I didn’t find
it too loud at all, though sometimes it was hard to hear the
presenters talking over some of the music.
Just like any “concert” there was
merchandising available which was fairly pricey at £5 for
a programme, £12 for t-shirts and other items ranging up to
£20 +. Cameron was happy with his programme which was a great
distraction during the interval, but pester power by a more
determined child could have seriously dented your wallet.
As
a family it made for a good morning out. The slow itself was
about 1hr 30 with a short interval and was staged 6 times
over 2 days. We went to a morning showing as it fitted in
best with Cameron’s routine and he seemed to enjoy himself
though was thrown a little when the interval came. He didn’t
know whether he had seen enough and wanted to go home or whether
he should stay and wait for the show to start again.
Age
wise, 2.5 years was perhaps a little too young to fully appreciate
it as the 3-5 year olds seem to be having more fun. It has
obviously made an impression, however, as Cameron is still
talking about it. “Went to the show and we saw
the Tweenies!!”
