Walking With Dinosaurs - Odyssey Arena

Photo Courtesy of Neil Carey

I’m using no hyperbole whatsoever when I tell you that “Walking With Dinosaurs” was the best thing that I’ve ever seen with my eyes, ever. No exaggeration. As a self confessed nerd and lover of all things dinosaur, what could be better than a live arena spectacular involving my favourite dino pals?!

Before going to see the show at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, I intentionally tried to avoid all adverts, pictures and information about it, to be honest I really didn't want to ruin the surprise. From what little I had heard though, I knew that I wanted to wait until I saw the real thing as it would be seriously impressive.

Upon entering the arena, we quickly found our seats and were greeted by the sight of a giant dinosaur's jaws, two screens and what appeared to be mountains in the middle. The lights were low and the atmosphere was high as thousands of kids and adults chattered in anticipation. To my surprise there were a lot of adults there without children - this just goes to show that people of all ages can enjoy what the show has to offer.

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Photo Courtesy of Neil Carey

From the moment the first dinosaur appeared on stage, the crowd went quiet as each and every one of us was transported back 248 millions years. Through the clever use of technology and props, it was hard not to be.

Throughout the course of the night the simple set was transformed as we progressed from baron landscapes, to the first signs of plant life, to raging fires and finally to the evolution of flowers and insects as we got closer to the present day. This was all demonstrated through the extremely clever use of what can only be described as blow up plants and trees which could be depressed at a moments notice - meaning that plants and trees could sprout and flourish as if from the ground itself.

As renowned palaeontologist Huxley lead us through the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic periods, we were introduced to a whole host of dinosaurs, each of which helped to tell the story of both the world's and the dinosaur's evolution. (Read about the progression of the show here). It really was an educational show.

Photo Courtesy of Neil Carey

We saw 20 life sized dinosaurs roaming through the Odyssey in this £10 million arena spectacular - we saw them fight, feed, protect their young and even fly.

I think what made these dinosaurs so truly spectacular was that they were ultimately controlled by people - the smaller dinosaurs were pretty much people walking around in dinosaur costumes as they used the actors' real legs to walk around, whereas the bigger dinosaurs were mounted on what looked like small vehicles which people 'drove' around (although it does take a team of three people to operate each dinosaur). It's hard to picture just what this looks like, so it's best to look at the pictures and videos to get a true feel of what this looked like! Nevertheless this made the dinosaur's movements natural and realistic, especially when coupled with their rippling skin and glinting eyes.

I would urge anyone to go and see these dinosaurs as they will probably be as close as you're ever going to get to seeing them in real life. A truly spectacular and at times scarily realistic night. 

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By Laura Caldwell

La Boca - A Little Bit of Argentinian Flavour in the Heart of Belfast

 Restaurant Review

- La Boca

Where?

Situated just a few minutes walk from Belfast's City Hall, this little Argentinian restaurant/bar/café is perfect for lunch, dinner, and everything in between. There's also Voodoo bar straight across from it for those oh so important after dinner drinks...

Food

La Boca offers a lunch and a dinner menu, both of which are available to view on their website. I recently went for lunch as I found a great deal on Living Social for 2 main courses and two wine/beer/soft drinks for £13 and the food was delicious. I definitely recommend the La Boca Burger which is served on an amazing ciabatta-style bun with hand-cut chips and choice of home-made salsa. The lunch menu also offers such Argentine style delicacies as: El Guacho Steak Sandwich, Choripan (a sort of chorizo sausage burger) and Pescado y Papas Fritas (or fish and chips to you and me).

For dinner, the choices include a range of Argentine steak, tapas and a series of daily specials. A true taste of Argentina. 

3rd September also sees the launch of both new lunch and dinner menus, so their's even more to come!

Drink

Most wines on the menu are either Argentinian or Chilean, with a few from Brazil and Italy as well. There's a fairly good selection with a glass of house wine costing £4 and a bottle £14.

Beers and ciders look like this: Krombacher (a German beer), Traditional Ales, County Apple Cider and Quilmes (Argentina's favourite beer). Personally, I would recommend a cool bottle of Quilmes, it's light and crisp and is unique in Ireland to La Boca.

Spirits available are a selection of vodkas, rums and a clear Chilean spirit made from grapes called 'Pisco'.


Décor

La Boca is named after a vibrant, colourful barrio in Buenos Aires which is known for it's houses with primary coloured exteriors.

It's clear to see that this was the inspiration behind the décor as the inside of the restaurant itself reflects this perfectly; simple, sturdy wooden tables, shutter-style doors which open out into the street and a brightly coloured Argentine style wall.

The layout is simple, the room is bright and there's even a few tables outside for when the sun decides to shine.


Verdict

La Boca is a lovely restaurant, which really delivers on its promise: real Argentine style food in a relaxed, Argentine atmosphere. It's great for parties, large groups of people or just a romantic dinner.

La Boca offers something a bit different, for when you're tired of eating Italian or American and you should definitely try it out soon.


Also they just got Twitter! - @LaBocaBelfast

Opening hours:

Monday & Tuesday 12:00pm - 8:00pm

Wednesday & Thursday 12:00pm - 9:00pm

Friday & Saturday 12:00pm - 10:00pm

By Laura Caldwell

PWU Proving Grounds at Malone Rugby Club

It was about this time last month (29th July to be precise) that my brother and I were sat in Malone Rugby Club getting ready to watch PWU’s “Proving Grounds” event.  It had been a few years since I last caught any of the PWU shows, back when they were held in the Wellington Hotel, and I was ready to get stuck back in. 

I’ve been a wrestling fan myself for as long as I can remember - bar a few years at secondary school when it dropped off my radar - I’ve always enjoyed it. From sitting in the Kings Hall chanting for Big Boss Man and the Undertaker, to proposing to my wife at Wrestlemania 21 in Los Angeles (yes this is a true story), the big time wrestling of WWE and not TNA is a great spectacle for all. But let’s not forget the smaller organisations, the local ones. Well this is where PWU comes in. All tickets were priced at £5, a bar and screaming and shouting welcome. 

The Massive Giant "Tron"

“Proving Grounds” is a yearly show that is used to showcase new and emerging talent alongside the existing stars of Pro Wrestling Ulster and what a great show it truly was.  We’re sat in the Rugby club and before us is a 20”x20” ring squeezed in the corner, it’s the same size as the WWE use and it’s huge! There’s a crowd of between 70-90 people, a mix of couples, kids, parents and groups of friends.  It’s a good atmosphere with the majority really getting into it.

The Battle Royal under way!

Tonight we’re getting 6 matches and a battle royal. We begin with the biggest guy on the roster, standing somewhere over 7 feet and having spent a while in WWE development, it is easy to see that the guy has come on leaps since the last time I saw him years ago. He has a look, he can talk and by god he can wrestle! He has a lovely opening match verses Bonesaw with the crowd and especially the kids really enjoying this classic good versus bad match-up (or in wrestling speak – Face vs Heel).  Then just before the 20 minute break is my favourite match of the night - Darren 'Blue Guy' Andrews vs 'All Ulster Champion' Christopher Tiberious Banks III. A really quick, crisp and (as much as the low ceiling will allow) high flying affair.  These two really put on a show and I would thoroughly look forward to seeing them again.

Throughout the night we get a triple threat with some wrestlers from south of the border, a tag team bout with Vampires and Mexicans and then we round it all off with all the competitors in the Terry Thompson invitational Battle Royal.  For those not familiar, Terry Thompson is the Vince McMahon of PWU, he’s the money, he’s nefarious and he’s the man in charge. So it was only right that at the end of the battle royal as he went to hold the “winners” hand aloft, he quickly revealed that he was in the battle royal too and threw him over the top rope to declare himself the true winner!

 

The timing of the show was spot on, 2 hours with an interval. It held my attention the whole time and it brought me into the storylines as well as the action.

PWU have an upcoming show on Sunday 26th August at the Balmoral Hotel. It will have the re-match between Darren 'Blue Guy' Andrews vs 'All Ulster Champion' Christopher Tiberious Banks III. This time for the belt and my money is on it stealing the show once again!  Unfortunately we’ll not be in attendance due to previous commitments but we’ll be doing our best to catch all the shows going forward.  It’s a great way to spend a Sunday night regardless of your age and at £5 it is a bargain for live home grown entertainment, oh and there’s a bar so there really is no excuse!

Big Gay Day Out - Gay Pride 2012

As a massive gay myself, I was seriously excited to attend this years Pride Festival in Belfast. Spanning from Friday 27th July all the way to Saturday 4th August, Belfast Pride Festival 2012 is the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender festival in Ireland and this years was one of the biggest ever (it also ranks in the top ten largest pride parades in the UK). 

According to the Pride Guide, Belfast Pride costs around £60,000 to run (raised by sponsors, advertising and donations), with around 6,000 hours of volunteer service. 

Belfast Pride isn't all about being gay, it's about being proud of who you are, and there were tons of events and activities throughout the week to help keep you occupied. From the Out 'n' About Pride Walk, to the Lark in the Park, there was something for everyone. There was also a number of lectures and workshops, including the Amnesty Pride Lecture 2012 on The Dangerous World of Gay 'Cures' at the Europa Hotel and the LASI Confidence Building Workshop at the LASI Community Space. 

On Saturday 4th August, the Pride Parade took place. The parade itself is the highlight of the Pride Festival and thousands took to the streets of Belfast to join in the fun. The Parade left Custom House Square at 12 noon and made its way through the streets, up past City Hall and then back to the Square. This year's theme was 'Pride at Sea', and everyone really camped it up by getting into the nautical spirit of things! We saw floats decorated like boats, with fish and octopi galore, we saw sailors and Navy men and to add to the stereotype: a hell of a lot of men with little puppies wearing real-people clothes. To be perfectly honest, no gay man or lesbian woman or transgender stereotype was left unfulfilled. 


This year's Parade was top notch, lasting at least 40 minutes and as the sun shone on us, everyone could really feel the party atmosphere as the crowds, colour and noise passed us by. People from all walks of life participated, with political parties, charity groups and even the girls from Belfast Roller Derby dropping by!

Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves and there was no trouble from what I could see (apart from the traditional religious groups who stand at city hall with their loudspeakers shouting damnation). But, let's face it, that's to be expected.

Then, as the afternoon wore on, the crowds headed back to Custom House Square, where they filled the streets and even for five or ten minutes, stopped traffic as they crossed the road to the Albert Clock. After a few drinks outside McHughs, we headed inside Custom House Square for the 'Party in the Square' which ran from 11am to 7pm and had a variety of entertainment. The bill consisted of Kitty Brucknell, Tina Cousins, Ryan Jagger, Kezi Silverstone, Ryan John, Diva Dolls, Tommy Shots, Ajenda Mister Underground and much much more! 

The Pride Festival was a really fun way to pass a week for young and old alike. It was a chance to meet new people, experience new things and when it comes down to it celebrate who we are and have a massive party in the sunshine. All in all, this seemed like a fantastic Pride Festival and we hope that next years will be even bigger, better and camper!

By Laura Caldwell

Film Devour 8 at the Black Box

Two short film festivals in two days, what a great time to be a film fan in Belfast! Having to decide between this and Joe Lindsay's "Shower of Cults" film night across town at the Hudson Bar showing Grind House Star Wars was a tough choice. So, having promised myself I'd go to the last Few "Film Devour Short Film Festival" and not quite making it I finally made it to number 8. As I arrived at the Black Box I noticed a huge crowd gathered before the doors, this is always a good sign. Soon we filed in paid our £4 and were ready to see some of Northern Irelands finest shirt films.

With 20 films in all covering many Genres - Horror, Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Sci-Fi...I could go on-it's safe to say there was something for every one. We started off with a film I'd heard a lot about but never seen "Looking for Al" essentially a documentary about 4 lads from Northern Ireland travelling down to Dublin trying to meet Al Pacino at the premiere of his latest film. An absolute geg with much banter included it's a great way to kick off the fast and a welcome opening 15 mins it's worth saying at this point that these films area lot longer short films than the ones shown last night. Where the longest film shown there was 3 mins 30secs these films range from 5 mins to 15.

"The Beach" is a wonderfully shot black white horror film about a man finding himself on a lonely island where he encounters a not so friendly apparition. The Portrush backdrop makes this a beautiful film to watch and the black and white adds a touch of gravitas. We have a few technical difficulties as Intermission is called after 7 films but after we're all refuelled were back for the long haul an date last 13
McKeever and Jones have 2 films shown here tonight. Both filled with classic Belfast humour and the 2 extremely likeable characters. The shorter of then2 was my favourite "McKeever and Jones Dreams Come True" filmed outside Victoria Square in the Cornmarket it features a chucklesome almost dance sequence about a man whose every wish comes true as he walks by the world, from nicking a chicken burger to swooping in for a snog with his dream girl and with a fun ending that everyone creasing with laughter.

Other mentions would be "Nuts and Robbers" by Aiden Gault and Marty Stalker. A very black comedy about bungling robbers that's worth a watch. Special effects mention of the night goes to Chris Thompsons "Skyhawk". With SFX that would look at home in any Hollywood Bloackbuster it's really surprising what the guys working in their bedrooms can come up with. "Spiderland" ended off the night with an usual ode to the muppets via the festive imagination of Paul Currie. A tale of spices in Belfast and their camp Rottweiler this was a dark slice of twisted comedy that finished off the night perfectly.

The main thing if notice tonight was the quality of all the films shown and the sell out crowd that came to pay in, while the Olympics are on, on a sunny day, to come and support these films. As I left the black box having been in there for over 4 hours I did quip that it was the longest Short film festival I'd ever been too, but long may it continue. Vive la Film Devour!

By Chris Caldwell

Hansel of Film at The Black Box

Last night as part of the Olympic Festival and the Belfast Film Festival, 'Hansel of Film' came to the Black Box. Basically a bunch of short films are going on a relay, being carried by real people from Shetland to Southampton and back again, making 24 stops along the way. One of those stops was Belfast. Being curated by film critic Mark Kermode and film historian Prof. Linda Ruth Williams, who were both present last night, you knew you were in good hands (however large and flappy they may be).

We started with seven short films made by people living in the Shetland Islands and they had some brilliant (and bonkers) films! There was a four minute documentary about the UK's northern most bus shelter "Unst Bus Shelter" (which never showed a bus), one about a female polish murderer "Vycky" and a great one from a bunch of kids that featured a physical battle between two opposing armies that represented the decision process that goes on when one has to decide between juice and cola "Battle of the Juices". The films were all great quality and thoroughly entertaining, showing that creativity can come from anywhere and isn't restricted to the big thinkers in capital cities.

Next up we had seven films from Wotton-Under-Edge. These were screened in Belfast because their own local screening encountered difficulties and couldn't proceed, so we got to see them instead. Featuring a lot of films made by youngsters and with Olympic and other funding, these also were a joy to watch. My highlight being the laugh out loud history of the stick figure we see in warning signs, "Remembering Formby" was beautifully animated by Susan Elliot and her team. It was a great twist on something we see on a daily basis but never really think about. Also thrilling, was a film made by 13-17 year olds about how the Olympics is represented in their small village: "Olympic Village" was well shot, edited and wonderfully executed.

The last segment was devoted to short films from Belfast. They cited a lack of response to their call for submissions for the comp, so they had to pad it out with other quality shorts to make up the allotted half an hour. However, some great animation from students at the University of Ulster represented Belfast fully and showed what great things are being taught in our own city. The best of these being "Labyrinth of Language" a rich, funny and meticulously animated short about a boy lost in a maze. The highlight of this section was from London and the This is it collective. "Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared" was the perfect way to finish off the evening.

Original, hilarious and a little bit  twisted, it had the whole audience laughing and gob-smacked in equal measure. As we all sat there with our jaws a little bit open at the end and trying to get the song used out of our heads (green is not a creative colour) Mark and Linda thanked us for coming. They then welcomed some of the local film makers on stage for a round of applause before handing over the film canister to the next runner to be taken to Bo'Ness just outside of Edinburgh. The runner was actually going to cycle and having been born in Belfast and now living in Bo'Ness seemed the perfect choice to do it, until he revealed that he hadn't cycled more than 1 mile in the last 5 years! Good luck Bo'Nes and enjoy the Hansel of Film.

A Fabulous Day at the Dalriada Festival

It was with suspicious eyes that I opened the curtains on Fri 13^th July; it looked like the sun was shining, but with this being Northern Ireland, one can never be too sure.  Sure enough though, there it was!  But would it stay? That was the main concern. We were headed to the Dalriada festival in Glenarm later that day, and with the festival being 90% outdoors, the weather was pretty crucial to its success.  We had my mother in law and my niece over staying with us from Scotland and were trying to show them the best of what NI had to offer, so after a morning at Titanic Belfast we headed out towards Larne, the North Coast and eventually Glenarm. We arrived at the grounds to Glenarm Castle with the sun still shining and as we quickly discovered a lot of other people had the same idea.

We navigated to the carpark easily as the grounds were well signposted and a short walk later we were paying in. With under 12s free and discount for seniors it was priced very competitively. My wife and I paid £10 each. The next few hours were spent having an amazing time, but first we scurried over to the Fine Food zone for some hog roast and coffee while the Broken Strings bluegrass band played in the background, which later made way to a display of Irish dancing.

We then moved round to see the cooking display from Channel 4s Fabulous Baker Brothers.  The guys were on great form as they took us through cooking a salmon en croute using all local produce, which we managed to grab a piece of to taste once they had finished. It was delicious (even though I don’t really like salmon)!  The guys were super nice and stayed behind for a good 20mins taking pictures and chatting with everyone.  They were handing out stickers for their website and as they stuck one on me I thought it only fair to stick some of the new pastiebap.com stickers on them. 

After the cookery we saw Willie Drennan’s Ulster Scots Band playing in the beautiful walled gardens. We had some ice cream while we attempted to watch the world’s first sheep fashion show. This was absolutely mobbed but we managed to glimpse Lady Baba and Super Lamb walking the catwalk with ease.

We caught the tail end of the massive muscle men taking part in the 'Clash of the Celtic Giants', tossing the massive caber in the air. We had a quick go on the Segways on the way round and to finish the day off, there was the amazing dancing acrobatic display that is the AFRIKAN WARRIORS.

The Dalriada festival has some solid sponsors in the shape of P&O ferries, UTV, Calor and Audi and it’s great to see these companies getting behind what is a different kind of festival that is truly for the whole family.  In an over saturated market of music festivals, Dalriada truly is something different and long may it continue!

This Is My Jam

We've just signed up to thisismyjam a new website that lets you pick and display your pick of new (and sometimes not so new) music. Every week we'll be picking our favourite tunes form around the Island for your listening pleasure.  So here's our first pick! Click the pic below to see and feel free to follow us.

The Found Footage Festival - The Black Box

 Where else can you see a kitten playing the piano, a man wearing tubs of peanut butter for shoes, an angry motor-home salesman, or a vibrating face exercising mask? The Found Footage Festival has arrived. 

On Tuesday 10th July my brother told me that he had won tickets to The Found Footage Festival being held in The Black Box and asked if I wanted to go along with him. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into, but I happily agreed and soon found myself in The Black Box in the Cathedral Quarter sipping on a cider. The room was quite full for a Tuesday night and shortly before 8pm the lights went down and the projector screen at the front of the room lit up. What followed was an hour and a half journey into amusement and madness.

I really didn't have any idea of what to expect, and for some reason I literally thought that they would just play funny movies, one after the other and that would be it. So I was surprised when two American guys stepped out to compere. It soon became clear that these two guys, Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett had dedicated their lives to finding the most unintentionally weird and funny VHS tapes from around the world and their witty banter between videos really tied the night together and made everyone feel a part of their descent into weirdness.  As a massive Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan I was very excited to find out that these funny guys had contributed, and their other comedy credits also include The Onion, Late Show With David Letterman, and The Colbert Report. So you have some idea of the hilarity which ensued throughout the night.

Personally, I think that the two rules stated on The Found Footage Festival website really sum up what The Found Footage Festival is all about: "Two rules govern Found Footage Festival: 1) Footage must be found on physical format.  No YouTube. 2) It has to be unintentionally funny. Whatever it’s trying to do, it has to fail miserably at that." These videos aren't of posers trying too hard; they are genuine, serious videos which people have produced. Which to be honest, makes them all the funnier. 

The night was filled with weird and wonderful videos, most of which were montages which the guys had compiled over the years and we saw such classics as: magic rainbow craft sponging, exercise videos, public access footage, a song about every single astrological sign,  Arnold Schwarzenegger at Rio Carnival, various home movies, "Rent-a-Friend", How To Seduce Women Through Hypnotism and a dating video montage. 

Between videos, we were told the history of the video we were about to watch and some funny anecdotes to match. These were very entertaining and there are all kinds of extras and interviews on the 5 volumes of 'The Found Footage Festival' DVDs, which are available to buy. The sixth volume is due to be released on 28th July and can be pre-ordered here.

The quality of the comedy was spectacular, we didn't see a single un-funny video and the room was in stitches all night. It's basically like someone showing you the funniest videos on YouTube and weeding out the stuff that it isn't worth seeing. Joe and Nick have done all the work - so we don't have to.

By Laura Caldwell

Land of Giants Awakens Belfast at Titanic Slipways

A couple of months ago I heard rumours of an epic new show coming to Belfast, 

Land of Giants'. 

Yet when I asked around, no one seemed to know what it was about. "Uhhh, there's cranes and acrobatics and fireworks and music and stuff I think" was the usual reply. This was obviously going to be a show shrouded in mystery and I would just have to go and find out all about it for myself.

After booking and paying for tickets for this long awaited event, I recently received news that "in a GIANT act of generosity, Legacy Trust UK has announced that they are making the huge Land of Giants event...free to everyone", with refunds for everyone who had paid for tickets. Happy days.

So on 30th June we didn't really know what to expect and as we headed towards the Titanic Slipways we were still none the wiser. We were greeted with the sight of scaffolding that ran the length of the slipways with a massive crane at each end. The scaffolding was lined with red ribbons and as it neared the starting time of 10.30pm the tension built as night set in and the distant sound of snoring giants could be heard overhead.

Shortly after 10.30pm the wind picked up, the rain came down in sheets and with an explosion of fireworks, the show began once and for all. At first we looked in awe as a girl in a red dress ran the length of the scaffolding, breaking through the red ribbons and being chased by red fireworks until she reached the end where she was hoisted into the air by a crane and somersaulted into the air. From this moment it was clear that Land of Giants was going to be something special.

As our main character hurtled through the air, musicians assembled along the "stage" and as the heavens truly opened on us, the sound of the drums exploded in our ears like thunder. The drummers were perfectly in time with each other and they played belligerently as flames whipped around them from torches nearby and red flags were whipped through the air. The atmosphere was haunting and personally, I think that the relentless rain added to the drama of the whole event.



At this point in the show large lit-up letters were passed down the scaffolding from person to person, while projections were displayed on the Titanic Belfast building itself. (These projections were top-notch and even better than the ones seen at the opening of Titanic Belfast at the Titanic Light Show).

A home-grown voice-over could be heard of a poem or collection of words which seemed to  hypnotise the crowd as 'Land of Giants' acknowledged Belfast's industrial past and we saw linen workers pass a large sheet of linen down the line.

Next up, four massive frames were hoisted onto the 'stage' and with the flashbulb clink of a family photograph we were introduced to several ordinary people from Belfast and their personal stories as they came, went and lived in Belfast.  As the stories progressed we were eventually introduced to the ancestors of our protagonist Grace who worked at the shipyard.

The frames drop and the 'stage' fills with performers dressed in workers clothes as they begin to beat out rhythms on the metal bars of the construct. Once again, it's hypnotic and terribly fitting as we are standing on the slipways, a few yards from where the works of Harland and Wolff would have carried out their daily grind.

Then, Grace is back and everything comes together as hydraulics cause lit-up funnels to rise majestically into the air. As performers hold light-up discs which represent port-holes, the crowd suddenly sees the Titanic, Belfast's most famous export recreated before their very eyes, on the exact spot that she stood 100 years ago. The choir sings and the voice-over waxes lyrical about the great ship as only three of the four funnels puff smoke (on the real ship one funnel was for aesthetic reasons only and didn't function as a real funnel). It is this precision and attention to detail that makes Land of Giants a truly spectacular show.

The voice-over repeats its poetic mantra of "longer than life - higher than space" over and over and over again as the drummers assemble once more. We are back at the beginning, we have gone full circle to where we once started. The cranes lift six performers into the air as spectacular fireworks mark the end of the show.

The 45-minute spectacular was held as a part of the London 2012 Festival and was under the artistic direction of Mark Murphy, featuring a cast and crew of over 500 local performers and musicians. This project was the culmination of over two years work and a hell of a lot of talent from our local performers, all performed to a crowd of 20,000.
Land of Giants was truly a show worth waiting for, it told the story of the people, of industry, of life and how words and letters bind us to each other. We live in a land forged by giants, a land dependant on history and storytelling and Land of Giants truly showcases both.

The show finishes, the crowd are rapturous with applause and as if right on cue, the rain stops. As the crowds filter out, someone knocks over a barrier and as everyone trips over themselves getting out, it is clear that the magic is lost and we are back to reality.

By Laura Caldwell