Come face to face with a dinosaur! Or the nearest thing you can get. Director Scott Wright discusses what makes the Dinosaur Petting Zoo so magical.
Thanks to some realistic puppet theatre, dinosaurs are no longer extinct. "We can climb inside them, make them run, jump, roar and even terrify people," says Scott. "A lot of people think of puppetry as simple, and not a very sophisticated form of theatre. But people very quickly forget that they're puppets because they're so lifelike."
Scott explains that originally the team had "been working in museums making presentations for individual dinosaurs." Upon finding themselves with a menagerie, "we started presenting them in an informal way, and it's evolved into a show which is now touring all over the world."
Audiences continue to be fascinated by the ancient creatures, and the show is popular with adults and children alike. Scott thinks dinosaurs' appeal lies within their believability. "One of the things with dinosaurs is that there's so much evidence of their existence, so they're like our real monsters. They're things we really can believe in.”
Younger crowd members especially believe these dinos are real. "There's this great photo that someone took at one of our shows, with all the kids at the front of the audience. Every single child has a different look on their face. Some are in complete shock, others are laughing their heads off, some are crying, some are screaming with joy. They have a really visceral experience when they come to our show," says Scott.
Though the Dinosaur Petting Zoo stars adorable baby dinosaurs as well as more fearsome specimens, Scott's favourite dinosaur in the show is the Leaellynasaura. "She's considered to be one of the most intelligent dinosaurs, and the great thing is that she's Australian. I love that Australia has the smartest dinosaur."
The Dinosaur Petting Zoo runs from January 8-20 at the QPAC Cultural Centre in South Bank, Brisbane.
