Thursday, August 6

LazyTown Live, Theatre Royal

With Robbie Rotten as Blackbeard, determined to rid LazyTown of all the kids - and our superhero Sportacus - this is a feast of music, costume, dance and mayhem that's the perfect tonic for the rainy school holidays.

We follow the gang as they thwart Robbie's plan - with the trademark teamwork and a little extra energy from eating the so-called sports candy.

Every little girl wants to be Stephanie as she joins her LazyTown pals of Ziggy, Pixel, Stingy and Trixie on their adventure.

This time it takes them across the seven seas - but only after Robbie has turned Sportacus into an ice cream man and removed his special powers.

The entrance of Sportacus at the start of the show brought gasps and applause. Robbie, on the other hand was lean and mean (and a little hairy with his pirate beard disguise) and you couldn't help feeling he'd have preferred a few more boos.

The more intimate surroundings of the Theatre Royal make this a real family show compared to the comparative vastness of the Concert Hall stage next door, where LazyTown was staged last year.

We enjoyed a packed house with kids of all ages jumping up and down to sing and dance. And they all joined in with the very best songs from the television series, like No One is Lazy in LazyTown, You Are a Pirate, Bing Bang, and Teamwork.

And its popularity means that it's booked in until Sunday, with matinees this weekend - and tickets are still available.