When I mentioned the Curse of February Half Term in my last post, I wasn’t joking, That is how I ended up reviewing a show I didn’t even go to. Bear with me, and I’ll explain in baffling LWATlogic what happened.
I was asked to come and review Mr Bloom’s Nursery at Richmond Theatre, at the same time as Eva had to be at a party in Walthamstow which geography fans will realise is the opposite side of London. Clearly then, it was never going to be a full-family trip but Roo and I could go and it gave us the chance to recruit a real live toddler – henceforth known as Lady H. But we all know what happens to best-laid plans and when the curse struck mercifully close to home, it made me certain I wasn’t taking Reuben far from home the next day. That meant Nathan had to stay with him, while I took Eva to the party. And Lady H had to hastily find her own toddler pal to go with her.
Conclusion was, 4 people went to see Mr Bloom’s Nursery but none of them were me or my child. I’ll come back to what they thought later. First though, what is Mr Bloom’s Nursery Live?
Well, you know Mr Bloom. He’s the Mumsnet-Favourite Faux-Northern CBeebies Gardener who both cuddles vegetables and encourages children to eat them. Don’t think too hard about that. Now, he’s taking his veggies out on the road in a special live show that see them preparing the allotment for a royal visit. There’s Colin the Runner Bean, Margaret the Cabbage, Joan the Fennel, Raymond the Butternut Squash, Sebastian the Aubergine and the Wee McGregors. And with his veg and plants, he will sing and dance. I imagine.
Between now and 30th April, the show is visiting 40 venues – have a look at the full list of dates here. It’s aimed at 2-7 year olds, which is why it would have been perfect to take my 7-year-old and the 2-year-old Lady H. Ah well, well just chalk it up to another plan scuppered by The Curse.
But Lady H and her friend did enjoy it! They didn’t know all the songs to start with so were a bit unsure at first…but then they warmed up and were doing the actions “admirably” according to PapaH. There was some good audience interaction, with Mr Bloom throwing seeds (balls) into the audience for the older kids to catch, and the timing seemed about right (1 hr 20 inc interval) as some of the smaller ones were getting restless towards the end. So, a ringing endorsement from the 2-year-old and maybe I’ll be able to take the 4- and 7-year-olds when the tour comes back Londonwards. After all, look at how they – like the veggies – love Mr Bloom:
