Bluey comes to Warragul

Wackadoo! Bluey and the whole Heeler family will be coming to Warragul next month - for real life!

The hit stage show "Bluey's Big Play" will perform four exciting shows at the West Gippsland Arts Centre across Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26.

Featuring brilliantly created puppets, the theatrical adaptation of the Emmy award-winning children's television series is packed with music, laughter, and fun for the whole family.

Audiences of all ages will get to see Bluey, Bingo, Mum (Chilli) and Dad (Bandit), as they've never seen them before. When Dad feels like a little bit of afternoon time out, Bluey and Bingo have other plans! Audiences will join the girls as they pull out all of the games and cleverness at their disposal to get Dad off that bean bag.
Director of puppetry Jacob Williams said audience members can expect to see the entire Heeler family, life size and three dimensional on stage.
"There are moments of audience participation where you get to play along with Bluey and Bingo plus a few special guest characters to look out for," he said.
Jacob said one of the challenges involved with bringing Bluey to life on stage was ensuring "the flavour of the animation" translated into the three-dimensional world of theatre.
"Children can be rather unforgiving if you don't live up to what they are expecting, they have come to see Bluey!" he said. "When we began the first Australian tour back in 2021 I sat behind two sisters and when Bluey came skipping out at the top of the show they squealed with delight "Bluey's real!!"
Working alongside director Rosemary Myers, Jacob said the main aim with "Bluey's Big Play" was "to honour the show and how important it is to its audiences".
"Rosemary and I felt a huge amount of responsibility bringing these characters to the stage," he said.
"We worked along side the creators of the animation, Joe Brumm (the creator of Bluey) wrote the original script and story while Joff Bush (the original composer) was in the rehearsal room composing original music specifically for the stage production. Ludo producers were also in the room helping us realise some of the more nuanced elements of the Bluey universe and as a result, we have a beautiful stage show that lives up to the huge reputation of the original show."
The stage show also features original voices from the TV sensation, including the instantly recognisable voices of Melanie Zanetti as Mum and David McCormack as Dad.
Since premiering in Australia in 2020, "Bluey's Big Play The Stage Show" has toured globally across the UK, Ireland, Canada, the US, Europe, Singapore, South Africa and the UAE and has been seen by millions of fans worldwide.
"It amazes me that no matter where we take this show, whether it is South Africa, Middle East or the US the reaction is always the same," Jacob said. "This speaks to Bluey's universality and relatability. We all come from a family, whether we have gone to have families of our own or not the stories that Bluey tells are all too familiar and speak to our better selves."
"Bluey's Big Play" will perform four exciting shows at the West Gippsland Arts Centre across Saturday July 25 and Sunday July 26. Tickets are available to purchase online at https://sales.wgac.com.au