Review: Lazy Town Live!, Theatre Royal, Newcastle

May 17 2008 by David Whetstone, The Journal

WITH characters as colourful as Stephanie, Sportacus (or Sporcatus, as my three-year-old calls him) and Robbie Rotten, I felt we were in safe hands as we settled down to watch LazyTown at Theatre Royal.

LazyTown is a CBeebies kids' TV programme with high-tech puppet characters and computer generated sound effects and stunts, but it translated extremely well to the stage.

The moment the audience set off on the plane to LazyTown kids and parents alike were hooked.

Some great performances by the lead cast; energetic dancing; memorable hit-show music pumping out and plenty of audience interaction made this an enjoyable experience.

LazyTown is an Icelandic import children’s TV show which has become hugely popular. The town is, not surprisingly, a slow, lazy place – that is until the all-pink, dancing, singing Stephanie arrives.

Sportacus (imagine Errol Flynn with long moustache doing back flips in bright blue) soon arrives and encourages the LazyTown kids to eat lots of fruit – or ‘sports candy’ and play healthy games. However, Robbie Rotten, Sportacus’ arch enemy, has other plans and acquires a Robot super hero to outdo Sportacus.

There were some great acrobatic stunts from our sporty superhero, which had the kids gasping, and mums’ and dads’ mesmerised.

My Ruth loved every minute, as did every other kid I could hear scream and see dance in the aisles. It’s great to see your child have such fun, although I can’t imagine it having the same appeal if you weren’t there with your offspring.

I came away dazed but delighted from cheering our moustached hero and booing Robbie Rotten.

David Bootle