Prehistoric power

Nov 27 2008 by Mark Smith, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

DINOSAURS will be making their long-awaited comeback at the Echo Arena next summer.

A show based on the BBC’S award-winning programme Walking With Dinosaurs is heading to the King’s Dock venue for the English leg of a show which has been wowing crowds from Australia to the USA.

The £10m production features life-sized replicas of 10 different species of the prehistoric creatures including the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Plateosaurus, Stegosaurus, Allosaurus and Torosaurus.

The largest of the models – the Brachiosaurus – is 36ft tall and 56ft long and took a team of 50 people to build including engineers, fabricators, skin makers, artists, painters, and animatronics experts.

The show originated in Australia, and was originally brought to the stage at Sydney’s Acer Arena in January last year.

It took a year to build the original models in a Melbourne docklands workshop, which itself was big enough to park a 747.

Carmen Pavlovic, CEO of The Creature Production Company which designed the show – said: “The BBC series was a brilliant blend of special effects, escapism, excitement and information.Š Our show brings together all of that, plus something extra – it’s live!ŠŠ

“In this production, 15 roaring, snarling ‘living’ dinosaurs mesmerise the audience and are as awe-inspiring as when they first walked on earth.

“They are life-size, making the show so immense that it could only fit in arenas.”

The show runs from August 19-23. Tickets cost £35, £30, £20 and bookings of 12 people or more will receive a 10% discount for the weekday shows.

To book visit www.accliverpool.com or call 0844 8000 400.