I’m using no hyperbole whatsoever when I tell you that “Walking With Dinosaurs” was the best thing that I’ve ever seen with my eyes, ever. No exaggeration. As a self confessed nerd and lover of all things dinosaur, what could be better than a live arena spectacular involving my favourite dino pals?!
Before going to see the show at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, I intentionally tried to avoid all adverts, pictures and information about it, to be honest I really didn’t want to ruin the surprise. From what little I had heard though, I knew that I wanted to wait until I saw the real thing as it would be seriously impressive.
Upon entering the arena, we quickly found our seats and were greeted by the sight of a giant dinosaur’s jaws, two screens and what appeared to be mountains in the middle. The lights were low and the atmosphere was high as thousands of kids and adults chattered in anticipation. To my surprise there were a lot of adults there without children – this just goes to show that people of all ages can enjoy what the show has to offer.
From the moment the first dinosaur appeared on stage, the crowd went quiet as each and every one of us was transported back 248 millions years. Through the clever use of technology and props, it was hard not to be.
Throughout the course of the night the simple set was transformed as we progressed from baron landscapes, to the first signs of plant life, to raging fires and finally to the evolution of flowers and insects as we got closer to the present day. This was all demonstrated through the extremely clever use of what can only be described as blow up plants and trees which could be depressed at a moments notice – meaning that plants and trees could sprout and flourish as if from the ground itself.
As renowned palaeontologist Huxley lead us through the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic periods, we were introduced to a whole host of dinosaurs, each of which helped to tell the story of both the world’s and the dinosaur’s evolution. (Read about the progression of the show here). It really was an educational show.
We saw 20 life sized dinosaurs roaming through the Odyssey in this £10 million arena spectacular – we saw them fight, feed, protect their young and even fly.
I think what made these dinosaurs so truly spectacular was that they were ultimately controlled by people – the smaller dinosaurs were pretty much people walking around in dinosaur costumes as they used the actors’ real legs to walk around, whereas the bigger dinosaurs were mounted on what looked like small vehicles which people ‘drove’ around (although it does take a team of three people to operate each dinosaur). It’s hard to picture just what this looks like, so it’s best to look at the pictures and videos to get a true feel of what this looked like! Nevertheless this made the dinosaur’s movements natural and realistic, especially when coupled with their rippling skin and glinting eyes.
I would urge anyone to go and see these dinosaurs as they will probably be as close as you’re ever going to get to seeing them in real life. A truly spectacular and at times scarily realistic night.
