Dinosaur invasion at Molineux
A dinosaur was let loose on the streets of Wolverhampton - and headed straight to Molineux to give Wolfie the fright of his life.
The roaring, life-size Australovenator dinosaur puppet is in town for a series of appearances at The Grand Theatre with ERTH's Dinosaur Zoo.
The show features dinosaurs and critters native to Australia, delivering an educational, entertaining, and, at times, slightly terrifying 50 minutes.
Less of a standard theatrical show and more of a wildlife experience with a difference, the audience interacts with the life-like dinosaur puppets and their interactions direct the show.
Starting with the baby dinosaurs, and moving on to the older and larger species, 'all hell breaks loose' when the Australovenator comes on unexpectedly.
Dinosaur wrangler Kaitlyn Rogers said: "We say to the kids from the beginning 'dinosaurs are extinct, these are puppets' but they get terrified."
What makes their show different, Miss Rogers said, is they give the kids the power: "We need them to calm him down, to feed him, if he is in pain they help. That aspect of the show makes it completely unpredictable.
"We don't know what is going to happen when that kid comes on stage."
Sharing facts about the pre-historic stage stars throughout the show, the team have collected so much knowledge about the creatures there have been parents who have asked where they studied palaeontology.
But that is nothing compared to some of the kids in the audience, performer Lindsey Chaplin said: "We get four year olds who know more about dinosaurs than palaeontologists."
The wide-ranging fascination with dinosaurs is part of what makes the show so popular, Miss Rogers said: "I think dinosaurs are universal. In any country, at any age, dinosaurs are always something cool - they sound fake but they are real.
"The fact we are Australian dinosaurs, we bring something new to the table."
Originally from Sydney, the show has been so popular the Dinosaur Zoo has been based in London since last August, touring the UK, Denmark, and recently performing at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Australovenator, which means 'southern hunter', was about six metres long, and is the most complete skeleton of a meat-eating dinosaur ever found in Australia. It was discovered in a billabong in Winton, Queensland.
Dinosaur Zoo is on at 10.30am and 4.30pm today and 10.30am tomorrow. Tickets are £12.50 and available at www.grandtheatre.co.uk/ or the Lichfield Street box office.
