If your little one is a CBeebies fan, CBeebies House Party Live really does deliver exactly what it promises: an hour-long, full-on party packed with familiar faces, music, dancing and enough colour and chaos to keep even the youngest audience members entertained.
Taking over the Royal Festival Hall in London, the show brings the world of CBeebies off the television and onto the stage, featuring a mixture of presenters and some very recognisable characters. At our performance, these included Mister Maker, Hey Duggee and, of course, the famous Mr Tumble (Justin Fletcher) – who I can remember watching myself when I was younger!
The premise is simple: it’s a giant CBeebies house party. There’s singing, dancing, plenty of opportunities for the children to join in and lots of familiar moments from the programmes themselves. Clips from CBeebies shows are also incorporated onto the screens throughout, which helps make the whole thing feel very true to the channel children know from home.
I do think children will get the most out of the show if they already recognise at least some of the characters and programmes. There is more than enough happening visually to entertain children who aren’t avid CBeebies viewers, but seeing a character they know suddenly appear on stage makes the experience that little bit more special.
And visually, there is a lot happening.
Streamers fly into the audience, there are inflatables on stage, giant bouncing balls, bubbles, water being squirted and an almost constant stream of colour, lights and movement. If there’s a way of turning the Royal Festival Hall into a giant children’s party, they’ve pretty much thought of it.
That also makes it surprisingly accessible to a wide range of ages. My son Nate is nearly two and got lots from it, but we were sitting next to a family with a newborn as well as children who looked around six and eight, and there really did seem to be something for everyone. For younger babies in particular, the lights, music, colours and movement almost make parts of the production feel like a huge sensory experience.
With so much going on, one of my favourite parts actually came when everything calmed down. Around the middle of the performance, Mr Tumble leads a quieter story-time section. It gives the children – and probably the parents too – a welcome opportunity to wind down before the energy builds again. It’s a really clever piece of pacing in a show aimed at young children, because an uninterrupted hour of noise, music and excitement could easily become overwhelming.
Another element I thought was handled particularly well was the BSL interpretation. Rather than having the interpreter positioned at the side of the stage and feeling separate from the action, she was incorporated into the performance itself. She moved around the stage, interacted with the performers and danced alongside them. It felt inclusive in a way that was completely natural and integrated into the show rather than simply being an addition to it.
It is also worth knowing before booking that CBeebies House Party Live can be a very immersive experience. Performers come out into the auditorium and a camera moves through the audience, giving children the chance to wave and then spot themselves on the huge screen. Unsurprisingly, this got a brilliant reaction from lots of the children.
If you are sitting particularly close to the stage, there is even more interaction. Children and families are encouraged to get up, move towards the front, wave at the characters, dance and take pictures. For some children, that will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the entire experience. However, if you have a child who can become overwhelmed by characters, crowds or lots of noise and movement, I would definitely take this into consideration when choosing your seats.
We were in row M of the stalls and, for us, that actually worked really well. Nate can find larger costumed characters a little overwhelming when they are close to him, so being slightly further back meant he could enjoy everything happening on stage without suddenly finding himself surrounded by characters and excited children.
That isn’t a criticism of the immersive nature of the production – quite the opposite, because for the children who wanted to get involved, it looked fantastic. It is simply something worth knowing before you book so you can choose seats that work best for your own child.
The venue also felt well prepared for an audience made up predominantly of young families. Ear defenders were available, as were booster seats, and although these are things you may come across at other family-friendly theatre performances, they feel particularly useful here given the volume, lighting and sensory nature of the production.
At around 60 minutes with no need to stretch things out unnecessarily, the running time also feels spot on. By the end, Nate had definitely had enough – not because he wasn’t enjoying himself, but because an hour of CBeebies characters, bubbles, bouncing balls, music, dancing, lights and general mayhem is quite a lot when you’re not yet two!
For £24 a ticket, I also think it represents good value for a London family show, particularly considering the number of recognisable CBeebies faces and characters involved and the scale of the production.
Ultimately, CBeebies House Party Live knows exactly who its audience is. It’s loud, colourful, energetic, slightly chaotic and packed with the familiar faces and moments that young CBeebies fans will recognise immediately.
If CBeebies is already a big part of life in your house, seeing those characters step out of the television and into the Royal Festival Hall makes for a pretty special first theatre experience. And if you’re taking a toddler? Sixty minutes is just about the perfect amount of house party.
Review by Will (and Nate) Rye
You can find out more about the CBeebies show and book tickets here.
If you like this review you might also like my review of My Neighbour Totoro, Hercules and Matilda