The Wiggles Live Hot Potatoes Show

Published Friday 27 June 2008 at 13:45 by Thom Dibdin

Pitching their show at the pre-school interactive song and dance market, Australian group the Wiggles have created a formula that transcends international and cultural boundaries. The musical four-piece have found exactly the right blend of fresh and fun with the safe and known, which young children find so amusing.

At the heart of the show is a gentle mix of traditional rhymes with the Wiggles own, simple ditties. These come with a friendly, almost laconic delivery which, while it is scripted, has the real element of spontaneity which is so sadly lacking in many similar acts. When Jeff and Sam get out of sync with the words of Little Fishy it isn’t amateurish but funny, as they make sure it all goes right in the end.

The best trick in their book is to have transferred this on to the big stage, giving it the sort of production values that parents would expect from a musical show aimed at themselves. Choreographer Caterina Mete uses a simple blend of graceful classical ballet moves with the latest wacky street-dance steps for the seven-strong dance troupe, who create a series of dumb-show circus acts and assorted supporting characters, from fairies to ducks.

The supporting cast - Paul Paddick as Captain Feathersword with the three cartoon-like animals Henry the Octopus, Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog - add a sense of invention. While this mirrors the Wiggles’ own attitude to their songs, particularly in their putting of nonsense lyrics to pop-genre tunes, it also adds an extra dimension of adventure to the production.