ZOG is a favourite book for millions of children around the world, and this imaginative stage adaptation offers a joyful hour for children and adults alike.
Centred around the core story by Julian Donaldson, it brings added energy and delight with songs and dancing, offering a wonderful introduction to the theatre for little dragons.
The production brought to life the tale of the eager young dragon as he navigates his way through Dragon School, keen to win a golden star. The show is full of messages about school, learning and practise practise practise, so is perfect for little ones due to start school in September.
We visited with a four-year-old girl and five-year-old boy, who were both fully absorbed throughout. In fact, in the entire hour I didn’t notice any child lose interest – they were all captivated. It was fun, vibrant, energetic and speckled with interactive parts encouraging shouting from the audience, keeping the audience constantly entertained.
The cast were enthusiastic throughout with excellent choreography across the scaffolding type set which took the story high and low. It is a joy to watch actors enjoy their time on stage, and you really felt their enjoyment throughout as they entertained the audience of little minds, I can only imagine the sea of smiles staring back at them.
Image by Mark Senior
For me, Ben Locke as Gadabout stole the show, his flamboyant and comedic depiction of the ‘real live knight’ had me laughing out loud. Etta Williams as Pink Dragon stole the heart of the four-year-old girl with us, who complained the whole drive home that she missed her so much! My son loved ZOG and desperately wanted his own golden star, which ended up costing me £5 in the gift shop but was worth every penny.
I asked the two little dragons with us what they thought, and their insightful and detailed reviews were …
“I loved the pink dragon because she got two stars,” said Isla, aged four.
“It was awesome,” said Hugo, age five.
The show coincides with the major exhibition Julia and Axel - Thirty Years of Favourite Stories, at the Lowry, so after lunch we spent the afternoon looking around the exhibition and taking in some of the free sessions across the building.
ZOG is at The Lowry, Salford until September 3, 2023. For more information and tickets visit www.thelowry.com.
