The Reluctant Dragon

We were invited * today to watch an outdoor theatre performance of The Reluctant Dragon at Bryngarw country Park.
Off we went with our picnic blankets and some food, ok crisps lots of crisps! I needed Z to sit!
I wasn’t sure how Z was going to cope in an outdoor place. All that space to run! So I had packed his iPad as an emergency. Plan was have a look around the park go on a walk and tire him out so he’d sit and eat his endless supply of crisps. But of course with his eyesight he spotted his iPad in his bag getting out of the car.
We managed to have a little play in the park and go for a walk around the park before the show started. Was a lovely place lots of walks and things to see so we’ll definitely go back there at some point.

We placed our blankets on the floor under the tree for the shade, and got ourselves comfy. Got a coffee and was very surprised to see they had veggiewear cups, and not plastic and watched the show get under way.

When you look at the stage it looks very small, but I really was surprised at how many outfit changes and props were used by the three actors. They sang, even In welsh, they played instruments, they danced, they ran through the spectators and they got the children to participate. At one point Z did run and he was so close to getting up on that stage thankful he didn’t as I would have died if I would have had to have grabbed him off there! It was fine, it was all very relaxed and as a parent of a child with autism it was all I could have asked for. During the performance Z got up, he screeched he made some noises but not once did I feel judged. Even though the actors weren’t using any microphones, well not that I could see they were still pretty clear and it was quite a big area. They were full of energy and didn’t stop.

So the story was about a dragon, the Shepard’s son found him, and took him some pie that his mother made, each time the pie got bigger. Then St George was coming to slay the dragon as the community we’re complaining of the dragon eating chickens and making people go missing. The shepherds son took St George to meet the dragon and get to know him instead of slaying him because he was a friendly dragon, he never ate any chickens or made anyone go missing he kept to himself writing poems hiding out in the cave. The dragon and St George had a friendly fight instead and the dragon was then one of the community.


There’s a few more outdoor showings at Bryngarw Country Park, the one that we thought looks good and again child friendly is Pirate Pearl and the big blue monster, you can get Tickets here. It was nice to be able to sit in the sun, relax and have fun and if I’m around on that day we may go back explore the park a little more and hide the iPad! It makes for a good family day out. It’s also dog friendly!
Thank you for having us Bryngarw Country Park we’ve found a new place to visit. We’ll definitely come back!
* we were gifted review tickets in exchange for an honest review. Review is of my own opinion.