If you’re not familiar with the Octonauts then chances are you don’t have any small children. They are popular (animated) underwater characters who spend their days dealing with sea-life emergencies. They explore the deep, rescue creatures that need help and protect animals from harm.

It’s a positive message that kids seem to really identify with. Yesterday they surfaced from the deep blue sea and made their way to Westfield Derby to train wannabe Octonauts (aka fans!) Timed wristbands were available to pick up from the concierge desk for the various shows throughout the day. Each show was entirely free and quite long to boot.

As you might imagine the show was packed to bursting, it’s rare to get anything for free these days, let alone a decent length well rehearsed production. The characters sang and danced to all the familiar songs from the TV show, plus a couple of new ones. I am always amazed how the actors/dancers in these kind of shows manage to seem so agile while wearing extremely heavy costumes.

Captain Barnacles (the polar bear) and Kwazii (the cat) asked the audience to perform actions as part of their ‘training’ and amazingly no one was hurt as the huge crowd jumped and shifted about. There were some exceedingly well behaved children out in Derby yesterday 🙂

Kids shouted out answers to questions about absent characters and seemed truly engaged throughout the entire production. I believe they may have already performed at other Westfield centres around the country, so definitely check out your local one if your kids might be interested.

If you missed the show yesterday don’t worry, Westfield are running an Octonauts themed colouring competition and treasure trail around the centre. Just pop along to concierge to pick up the relevant forms and don’t forget to check out the remaining free events scheduled throughout the summer holidays.

For More information

For more wonderful events ranging from indoor shows through to craft activities visit Westfield Derby online.

Or you can contact the Westfield team on Twitter, or through Facebook.