Review: Peppa Pig’s Big Splash for a festive family day out in West End

“I need that”

Baby Girl spotted it straight away. A Peppa Pig windmill light, which she simply couldn’t live without. The Criterion Theatre was full of parents and young children – including some babies – and the windmill light was the toy of the day. As soon as we had one too, we could relax and really start enjoying Peppa Pig’s Big Splash, which we had been invited to see.

Baby Girl and the friend she came with are both Peppa fans, and they seemed excited to see the charming puppets on stage. I particularly love the large-sized puppets–Daddy Pig and Mr Bull–who even make me cringe.

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash starts with the characters playing hide-and-seek, and later in the show they notice a leak in the school roof. The friends decide to organise a school fete to raise money to fix the roof, and the school fete includes a puddle jumping competition.

Toddlers and preschoolers respond well to the audience interaction throughout the show, and many join in by shouting out to help the charming puppets find George’s Dinosaur, which goes missing, when they’re playing. Baby Girl and her friend also liked getting involved by getting up on two feet to do some jumping, and they were swaying along to the songs and music.

At the end of the show, Santa makes an appearance, and 27-month-old Baby Girl seemed to love seeing him on stage this year. When we saw the show last year when she was one, however, Santa was less important, and it was all about Peppa.

It’s exciting to be able to take little ones to a show on West End, and I think going to see Peppa Pig’s Big Splash makes for a brilliant day out for London families over the festive season.

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash is on at London Criterion Theatre until 2 January

Tags: Children's theatre, London, Peppa Pig, Peppa Pig Live, West End