Bluey's Big Play is the Mayflower Theatre's half-term treat
As Aarod Vawser says, the show is just “unimaginably huge” back in Australia. It has also swept the United States and the UK plus plenty of non-English speaking countries besides.
Now you can enjoy its characters on stage as Bluey's Big Play heads to Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre for half term (February 20-21).
Aarod is one of the puppeteers bringing it to life on a massive tour. He has been with the show on and off since 2021, touring Australia and then the States. He has now been two years on a UK and Ireland tour, having settled on a narrowboat in London.
Bluey is an Australian animated television series aimed at preschool children, created by Joe Brumm. It follows Bluey, a Blue Heeler puppy full of energy, imagination and curiosity about the world.
“Joe Brumm has written a really wholesome TV show about a family of Blue Heeler dogs. The family reflect his own family. He has written it from his own perspective as a dad, and it is about the every-day hi-jinx that the family go through. And it is just so relatable. You get the parents getting a bit fed up with their little ones but then they are drawn back into the delightful world of their children who are just wonderful. Bluey is the oldest daughter of two and she learns about the world. She goes through an emotional journey through each episode and she is learning all the time. And she invites the audiences to learn and to play with her. It is incredibly touching and very sweet.
“It is just unimaginably huge in Australia. You just can’t comprehend just how big it is. Every child watches it, and it has swept the US and it has swept England and lots of non-English speaking countries as well. It is the relatability of it all. And the parents love it. They are watching it thinking ‘My kids to do that!’ It is absolutely relatable to everyone.
“It is a new story for the stage but it does bring in a few elements and fan favourites from the TV show. But it is a whole new story with puppets. Each character is a big puppet,” says Aarod who plays the rather beleaguered dad.
“It just landed in my lap. I trained as an actor in Australia and I was offered this job as a puppeteer and I just haven’t looked back. I love puppetry. Normally you would want to be the centre of attention as an actor, but it is actually quite freeing that all the audience are looking at the puppet. You can take the pressure off yourself, but I think what is really rewarding is the response from the children. You feel like a rock star. You go on and the crowd go wild…. and I know they wouldn’t do that for me!”