'In The Night Garden' is a classic, up there with 'The Magic Roundabout', 'Chorlton and the Wheelies' and 'Bod'. At the live show you are greeted by the HaaHoos (huge full-size bouncy things) before venturing into a pristine white inflatable tent where the atmosphere is cocooned and cosy, though it's not small. They've clearly spent a lot of time at Night Garden HQ thinking about how the show translates on to the stage and they've opted to have two versions of each character – one full size and one a small puppet brilliantly controlled by puppeteers. The puppets all come out first and do a little bit of posing, then dash off and within seconds full-size Iggle Piggle takes the stage. As in the TV shows, the story is simple and easy to follow, the music playful. A great introduction to theatre for under-fives.
In 2015, you can catch the show on Blackheath (May 26-June 11) and the Old Deer Park in Richmond (June 18-July 2). There are two separate shows throughout the run: 'The Pinky Ponk Show' and 'The Ninky Nonk Show'.