This was our third ‘My First Panto’ experience at The Garage in Norwich, but the first performance for the Teeny One. The last time she was in attendance was when I was heavily pregnant with her two years ago!
I was slightly anxious that she is too young as the show is advertised for 2-5 year olds and she doesn’t turn 2 until January, but having been to a ‘My First Panto’ before I knew how good the different casts have been dealing with any ‘little interruptions’, and this year is no exception!
Packed full of songs and audience participation, it is the perfect performance for younger audiences who can’t sit still because they’re not expected to! Before we went in I was told it was not a problem if we had to leave to pop to the loo or do a nappy change and they even said the Teeny One could eat her lunch during the show (I’d had to wake her up from her nap to whizz over to The Garage so she hadn’t had time to eat).
The Teeny One is almost 2 and I’ve never taken her to anything like this so wasn’t sure how she’d react. She isn’t as forward as Mini Mumbler, but as soon as she heard Jack asking for help cleaning Daisy the cow (and she saw other children were doing it) she was up like a shot. From then on she was more and more willing to get up and do the jobs, and less and less willing to sit back down with Mummy. This was no problem though as the characters are happy to move in and out of children who have stayed in the middle and will encourage them to join in when they can.
The show is an hour long with no interval, which I feel is the perfect amount of time for little ones and it is so pacy that you don’t even know where the hour goes! We loved the inflating beansprout and clouds too, a lovely touch that WOWS and really immerses the audience into the performance.
We were invited to go along to the press preview to see what we thought of the show but I just know as soon as Mini Mumbler gets wind that we’ve been to see it, she’ll want to go too…and I’d happily go and see it again – surely a sign of brilliant Panto?
Tickets are available online HERE and are £12.50 for adults and £7.50 for children. Under 1’s go FREE.
Shows run from 30th November 2018 to 5th January 2019 and there are designated ‘Relaxed’ performances too. See their website for details.
