Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs

This half term the Southbank Centre was bustling with pint-sized pirates ready to join Flinn’s motley crew in Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs. In a story adapted from a popular children’s book by Giles Andreae, we meet Flinn, a youngster obsessed with anything and everything dinosaur-related; Pearl, a rambunctious tomboy; and Tom, the scaredy-cat of the group. Whilst on a treasure hunt the friends discover Captain Stubble, a friendly pirate who is sobbing as somebody has stolen his ship. United by their mutual love of adventure, the trio agree to take to the seven seas to help Captain Stubble win back his vessel. This fun and charming production asks you to have your eye patch, hook and best pirate impression at the ready, as you set sail on an action-packed theatrical experience.

The cast of four energetically captivate their young audience with catchy songs, striking visuals and hyperbolic characters. Much of the work’s charm is thanks to the clever use of puppetry, from a flock of seagulls suspended on a black fishing rod that majestically swoop over the front rows of the auditorium, to UV sea creatures that hypnotically float across the stage. This simple and considered approach extends to the costuming as well: for instance, a sea turtle created through a plastic basin being strapped to an actor’s back, or a dinosaur’s tail constructed from broken tyres – artistic choices that not only depict an innocence, but help to conjure a playful child’s-eye-view of the world.

Brimming with audience participation, the children are encouraged to shout out, clap along and scream at what they see and it’s a pleasure to sit alongside so many young people engrossed in what was quite possibly their first theatrical experience. The vast majority of the crowd seemed to be blissfully enjoying themselves, however there was a little chap in front of me who was slightly frightened. I suspect this was because some of the storm and fight scenes were quite loud and the T-Rex towered over him.

By combining pirates and dinosaurs, which rank among two of many children’s favourite things, you were always going to be on to a winning combination. Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs is a high-energy swashbuckling adventure that will no doubt ignite children’s imaginations.

Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs played at the Southbank Centre on 27-28 May.