Last Updated on December 11, 2022 by Suzy McCullough
The Sooty show is currently on tour again until at least April 2024. My son was first introduced to Sooty when we met him at Springfields, Spalding at a free outdoor mini-show. He fell in love with Sooty and his friends just as I did when I was his age. Sooty is a British institution. It is the longest-running children’s TV show from 1948 to the present day on CITV.
Sooty was first brought to life by Harry Corbett. Then his son Matthew took over in 1976 followed by Richard Cadell in 1998. Richard bought the rights to the show in 2008. They have been doing Sooty show tours nearly every year since then. I have found some mention of dates later in the year in the UK but I can’t find any more information on the Sooty Show website.
We saw the Sooty show at the Embassy Theatre in Skegness. This theatre is right at the heart of Skegness. It’s amongst the arcades, fairground rides and is very close to the beach. They have a huge variety of shows on all year round.
They mostly have on tribute acts but they sometimes have children’s shows on too including a pantomime over the Christmas period. You can follow this link to see what’s on. It’s fun to spend some time in Skegness before the show as even in winter there will be something open. My son loves the rides in the arcades over the road.
The Sooty Show review
When we entered the foyer I could only see programs for sale which seemed strange to me. Jamie already had a Sooty hand puppet from last year so I guess we weren’t looking to buy him anything. However, when we went into the auditorium we spotted a merchandising stand selling hand puppets, stuffed toys, magic light-up wands and much more.
Grandma kindly offered to buy something for Jamie and he chose a Sue hand puppet. This has since gone nearly everywhere with him! We wanted Sweep too to complete the set but they were out of stock. I have noticed that you can buy them from their online shop so I am sure a little boy will be getting a Sweep for his birthday.
We were lucky to be only 3 rows from the front so Jamie had a great view of the stage. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in a long time. We even spied couples there without children, such is the love for Sooty. They did a great job at being entertaining and bringing the 3 puppets to life.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Sooty show without a water pistol, or two, or three. I should have remembered this from last year. No one was safe though as not only did they squirt water a long way but Richard went into the audience to make sure everyone got wet. Everyone was laughing and squealing. What a great start to the show, it wasn’t the only occasion we got wet either!
Sweep stole the show for me. He’s always been my favourite, I just love his craziness. Jamie’s favourite part was definitely the machine that farted. Judging by all the other kids in the audience this was their favourite part too.
The show ran for about 1 hour 20 which included a 20-minute interval. During each half a child was allowed to go up on stage with them all which was a nice touch. There was plenty of dancing, hilarity, magic and jokes. There were even a couple of ‘stage hand’ puppets which had a few adult-based jokes thrown in for the adults. It was nice that they’d thought of the adults too.
The Sooty show was very professional and at times I forgot that the puppets weren’t actually real. I am sure that the show they take on the road next time won’t be the same. I am however sure that fun and laughter will be guaranteed. We all love a bit of silliness, don’t we? I found this show funnier than most adult comedians and I think there were a lot of adults there that would have agreed with me.
My show highlights were Sue auditioning for Britain’s Got Talent with her ballet moves and Sweep’s various audition attempts including singing along to Nessun Dorma. The use of the trap door, getting soaked, explosive boxes and then countless times we joined in with ‘Izzy whizzy let’s get busy’.
There was also the opportunity to meet Sooty and Richard after the show. We had to hurry off but Jamie wasn’t bothered as he’d met Sooty last year. You must get out of your seat quickly as the queue was huge!
If they come to a town near you I urge you to go, you won’t be disappointed.
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