Sydney Reviews

In a world where it is becoming harder and harder to get our kids connected to realms outside of tech and instant gratification, Erth Visual & Physical Inc. provides a remarkable experience at the Sydney Opera House. Erth's Dinosaurs tickles your senses, ignites your imagination and advances your knowledge with facts about the planet we live on and the ancient inhabitants that once stomped, growled, ate and died upon it.

Let's start with the puppets. The magic lies in the ability they create for you to suspend your disbelief. They are remarkably made. Their stylised nature gives you enough information to imagine exactly what it would have been like to watch a Triceratops walk past you. The texture of their skin and the mechanics of their design feed your senses a delicious meal that your brain gobbles up and turns into a world where reality and imagination are great collaborators. You can marvel at the stitching on wonderfully dyed fabric while being able to sense what the skin of a baby Leaellynasaura would feel like. You can see the puppeteers, but they seem to be protecting you from sharp teeth that could rip you limb from limb, or helping the dinosaurs find food, get a drink, or navigate their way on and off the stage.

The staging was very clever. They used a "Dinorama" and a video camera to project landscapes onto the stage, with beautifully collaged backgrounds of shifting landscapes, and small flora and fauna to engage and demonstrate Earth and its inhabitants millions of years in our past. This layered approach meant you could see everything on two scales, the miniature "Dinorama" and the projection larger than life on the stage. The effect was used to a particularly wonderful effect when showing how a meteor wiped out the dinosaurs. An apple represented the Earth, and to demonstrate the impact of the meteorite, one of the puppeteers took a bite out of it, which made the audience of all ages chuckle heartily.

Jackson Eather was the main narrator for this show. He had command of both the crowd, the puppeteers and the puppets themselves. He interacted with the dinosaurs, playful, cautious and wonderfully responsive to the slightest movements. He captivated the audience, both young and old, with his ability to share knowledge. He was like a conductor of a symphony making sure all the individual elements worked together. 

This show is a playful way to engage in history and will delight one and all. I asked what the little human I took thought about the show and their response really summed up the whole show. “It was incredibly aaaaaaamazing, like really great”.