A few years ago, something strange started happening to families with small children. Instead of flicking on CBeebies as an excuse to disappear off into the kitchen for a cup of tea, parents would sit down and watch along. School drop-off and play-date conversations began to be peppered with familiar references: ‘featherwand’, ‘shadowlands’, ‘tickle crabs’. A truculent imaginary emu called Shaun began disrupting family dinners (that one might just have been in our house).

The show that sparked this cornucopia of early-years touchstones is, of course (for anyone with kids), Bluey. On paper, it’s a light-hearted animation about a family of four Australian heeler dogs tackling various everyday situations. In reality, it’s a cultural juggernaut whose true-to-life presentation of the foibles, exhaustion and mischief of family life has made both children and adults feel seen.
Now the series has been transformed into a stage show, Bluey’s Big Play, with an original story that weaves in highlights from fan-favourite episodes. The signature flat animation style, meanwhile, is brought to life through puppets. ‘The audience goes wild when they spot familiar moments from the TV show,’ says puppeteer and actor Adam Ryan, who is taking the role of long-suffering (though not entirely innocent of mischief) dog dad, Bandit. ‘The team behind the puppets have worked super-hard to bring the 2D characters to life. It is our job as puppeteers to manipulate the puppets using all their expressions to recreate the feeling you get when you watch an episode of Bluey.’
This is precision work, syncing the puppets to a soundtrack created by the TV show’s original voice cast. But for Ryan, the effort is worth it to create the magic of familiar characters springing to life. ‘All their voices are so iconic,’ he says. ‘We lip sync exactly so it appears as if the TV characters are speaking live on stage.’
Bluey’s Big Play is on tour until Sunday 1 September.