STAGE: Animal Magic

Wallace & Gromit hit the road and head for Brighton Dome’s Concert Hall with Musical Marvels – an orchestral & animation extravaganza for all the family

Wallace & Gromit came to fame with the Aardman classic A Grand Day Out back in 1989, a whole 24 years ago, and their appeal is as strong today as it was back then. Wallace the wiley inventor is forever getting into a pickle and dragging his companion Gromit the dog along with him.

The Aardman method is animated modelling clay but for most of us the characters, voiced by Peter Sallis and Ben Whitehead, are as human as can be. Wallis, resident of Wigan and cheese enthusiast, is like a jolly uncle who is just a little odd. What’s not to like?

And a great part of the W&G fun comes form the delightful orchestral scores that echo those Northern roots with brass band themes and illustrate the plots with classic film score devices. Now, following a hugely popular BBC Prom at the Royal Albert Hall last summer, Wallace & Gromit hit the road with Musical Marvels, a new family show with performances taking place at the Brighton Dome Concert Hall on Saturday 30 March.

It’s a fun show with the audience invited behind the scenes as Wallace prepares to perform his Proms commission ‘My Concerto In Eee Lad’. Specially filmed Wallace & Gromit animated scenes reveal the duo’s backstage exploits as the Aurora Orchestra keep the audience entertained with classical favourites.

Following the interval there will be a special screening of the multi-award winning Wallace & Gromit film A Matter of Loaf And Death with the soundtrack performed live.

Merlin Crossingham, creative director of Wallace & Gromit’s Musical Marvels says: “I am delighted that Wallace & Gromit’s Musical Marvels is going on the road, after such a fabulous premiere as part of the 2012 BBC Proms. It is brilliant that more audiences will get the chance to experience this great show, featuring live orchestral music and bespoke W&G animation.”

Wallace & Gromit’s Musical Marvels
Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, Saturday 30 March, 2pm and 7pm, £15–£35, (children half price), Box Office: 01273 709709, www.brightondome.org