Sydney Reviews

Photo – Heidrun Lohr

Prehistoric Aquarium is the latest spectacle from Erth following from their internationally acclaimed Dinosaur Zoo. 

Katherine and Drew are great at leading the show through its paces. Taking on the roles of serious scientist and comical host, they play well off each other and bring a sense of fun to show. They convey some of the more technical information but do not labour on anything which would have lost young audiences, giving you just enough to keep you interested and letting the creatures themselves tell you the rest.

The ancient aquatic beasts that are brought to life in this show are awe-inspiring. The masters behind both the making and manipulation of the puppets do an extraordinary job of portraying prehistoric underwater marine reptiles. Some of the puppets are small enough that the volunteer aquanauts can take part in performance. Hand held creatures with beautiful lights are guided around the stage giving you a sense of time and space. Some of the puppets are huge and dominate the space. This creates a wonderful tension when predator and prey come head to head in nature’s oldest dance. The animals move in a beautifully undulating way that maintains the magic of the underwater world throughout the show.

The show is only an hour long so it is hard to absorb all the theoretical information but you’ll walk away with one or two new bits of knowledge under your belt. As an introduction into palaeontology and exploration of the rich history of life on planet earth this show is a must see. Creatures long extinct and some that are still living in the depths of our oceans, unchanged for millions of years are brought to life before you. For some younger children daunting teeth, overwhelming size and ominous music brought forth wails of ‘I want to go home’, however these did not last long and the fearful wails quickly turned into wondrous oo’s and ah’s.


Erth presents
Prehistoric Aquarium
by Scott Wright

Director Scott Wright

Venue: Carriageworks
Dates: 26 September – 4 October 2015
Bookings: Ticketmaster