Review: Peppa Pig’s Best Day Ever! for a bright show for young theatre-goers

When going to a West End show, you might think you can collapse down in your seat and settle in for a relaxing time. But on Wednesday we had little of that. Instead, we found ourselves dancing in our seats and occasionally ducking.

We were at West End’s Duke of York’s Theatre to review the new production Peppa Pig’s: Best Day Ever!, which is playing for a Christmas run and marks 10 years of Peppa Pig Live. The theatre was packed with families with mainly under 5s, and the atmosphere was cheerful as Peppa’s friend Daisy introduced the beloved characters represented by charming puppets.

The show sees Daisy join Peppa and her family on a road-trip where the group visits both a cave and a castle. On the journey, they meet Mr Bull, who’s digging up the road and Daisy helps stop a water leak that first had us ducking in our seats. Miss Rabbit is on hand to sell tickets to enter a cave, and Daisy and the family brave the dark to see the attraction in a scene that in true Peppa-style also includes innocent jokes to make parents smile.

Later they continue to the castle where Miss Rabbit again appears–now selling ice-cream and museum tours. Peppa’s friends joins the castle museum tour and plays musical statues with the audience. There are plenty of opportunities for audience interaction, including calling ‘there, there’ in a spotting game in the museum’s banquet hall.

The highlights for me were still George’s far-reaching tears, as he was sobbing because he was yet to see the castle dragon, and a scene with dancing knights in shining armour. The puppetry and costumes also stand out, with the giant-sized Mr Bull, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig costumes being particularly amusing. Similarly, the enormous dragon impressed, and I think the age group will like that the dragon has a friendly face and is similar in style to George’s smiling toy dragon.

Peppa Pig: Best Day Ever! will be playing at West End’s Duke of York’s Theatre until 5 January 2020. The production is recommended for ages 18 months and over and the running time is 1 hour and 20 minutes, including interval.

Photos by Dan Tsantilis.

Tags: Duke of York's Theatre, Peppa Pig, Peppa Pig Live, Review