Myself and my little girl were taken on a journey into space with the fantastic Welsh National Opera in this interactive, comedic and family friendly opera. It goes without saying, taking a toddler to see the opera filled me with a little bit of fear but I definitely didn't need to worry. The running time was just over an hour which was perfect timing.
The children were led through the journey of Tom Redmond, an experienced children's presenter, longing to attend an alien tea party on planet Zum Zee. He guides the audience through interaction and a series of well known opera pieces with the help of his trusty orchestra, who not only played the music but interacted in the play as well. Throughout this journey, there were combinations of aliens coming on and off the stage and a giant cloth rocket which filled the length of the stage which is exactly what is needed to keep young minds engaged and eyes on.
The set was minimal, 4 sets of chairs and space explorer props - it was the cast and props which made the stage feel full of energy and magic. Towards the end of the journey, when Tom was finally able to go to space on the rocket a screen projector came down. Again, a brilliant way to engage young minds where they were able to 'see space'.
Play Opera Live: A space spectacular really is family friendly, children are able to get up and down and many were asking questions to their grown ups throughout - in fact they are encouraged to get up and move! So if you are thinking of taking your child to their first theatre experience, this is the perfect show to start them off! I’m not going to pretend my little girl came out of the show singing opera but she was absolutely mesmerised by this space spectacular show for a little over an hour.
