Not so long ago, a cheeky Friday off work would have consisted of a long lie, a bit of lunch and probably a few cocktails to mark the weekend.
Fast forward to 2024, and long weekends are now set aside for much more wholesome activities.
Along with countless other north-east mums, dads, grandparents, and carers, I headed to P&J Live on Friday morning to see the Emmy award-winning children’s cartoon, Bluey, brought to life on stage along with my wee boy Ruaridh (three next week).
Bluey isn’t my favourite kids show, nor my favourite Australian export (that’s Neighbours, of course).
But the show – which first aired in 2018 and follows a family of dogs – has reached cult status worldwide.
According to the Radio Times, in January this year it was watched more than classics such as Grey’s Anatomy, with viewers watching 1.5 billion minutes of the show on Disney Plus in just one week.
Apparently, Bluey also has higher demand than 99.9% of all comedy titles in the United Kingdom.
Wow.
‘Bluey’s Big Play’ brings Australia to Aberdeen
Ru loves watching Bluey at home – so did the stage version keep him just as captivated?
The backdrop is Bluey’s recognisable home in Queensland and we’re soon introduced to the lovable and energetic main star, who lives with her parents Bandit and Chilli, and her younger sister, Bingo.
Each character in the show is represented onstage by human-sized puppets, which requires at least one puppeteer to operate their facial expressions and arms, and at times a second puppeteer for actions that control their legs and tail.
The puppeteers perform onstage actions in-sync with the audio track provided – and it’s pretty impressive stuff to be honest.
The story revolves around Bluey’s dad longing for Sunday afternoon downtime, in particular wanting to spend time on his phone researching lawn grubs
He says at one point he can’t face any more games as his “battery is running empty”, which I can completely sympathise with.
Bluey and Bingo have other plans, however, and they manage to get dad roped into a game of musical statues and glow-in-the-dark ‘keepy up’, with music and lighting used to dramatic effect.
Bluey is also growing increasingly frustrated by her little sister who is always copying her.
It leads to a revelation that I didn’t see coming – and seemed more suited to an episode of Eastenders – that Bluey’s mum hasn’t talked to her own sister in years.
After the young sisters fall asleep, the show ends with mum calling her long-lost sibling saying, “It’s me, your little sister” – having been inspired by her daughter’s own acceptance of Bingo by the end of the show.
Bluey’s Big Play looks at the joys of childhood
‘Bluey’s Big Play’ is a simple concept, following the doggy family during a day from sunrise to bedtime.
On the face of it, it doesn’t seem particularly complex but it’s actually a meaningful look at the simple joys of childhood – spending quality time together and kindness.
The puppets are incredible, the music is catchy, and the the last five minutes are a riot as giant bouncy balls are thrown into the crowds for kids to play keepy-up with.
At 50 minutes long, it’s short but sweet. Bluey certainly brightened up our day.
Bluey’s Big Play also runs Saturday, July 20 at 10am, 1pm and 4pm.Â