Beyond the Dragon’s Lair, The Beyond Realms ·
Subiaco Arts Centre, 11 April 2021 ·

Isabel Greentree (age 11)

Prepare yourself for a magical journey where fairies dance and dragons lurk! Beyond the Dragon’s Lair was presented by children’s threatre group The Beyond Realms and held at the Subiaco Arts Centre. 

The undercroft at the Arts Centre was transformed into the magical realm of fairyland. Trees hung with fairy lights and crystals, mushrooms growing at their roots, and castle and forest backdrops created a feeling of wonder as we walked in.  There was plenty to do as we waited for the show to start, with colouring in, face painting, and a stall with fairy houses and dragons which made me want to spend all my pocket money at once (and I did!). 

The actors were beautifully dressed as fairies, along with a fairy apprentice (Sam Renton-Weir) in wizard robes.  Lots of the kids in the audience dressed as dragons, fairies and even a pirate. The actors led us into the dragon’s lair and we sat on a carpet of green “moss” to hear a tale of fairies, dragons and ogres. 

We got to make special wishes and do some sparkly craft activities, along with some dancing. We saw a cheeky baby dragon which tried to nibble everyone’s fingers. The show was quite interactive and everyone felt included and didn’t get bored. All the kids enjoyed the interactive parts, and the show went quite smoothly, even when we had to get up and move around. The fairy actors were very patient with all the kids and great at keeping the show going even with interruptions.

It is hard to choose what my favourite part of the show was. The set and the lighting (Tracey Shaw) were awesome, and the fairy costumes (Zalia Joy) were amazing. The actors were very experienced and kind, especially the fairy queen (Nicola Renton) and the dragon whisperer. After the show we stayed for face painting, and left feeling happy and magical. I really enjoyed this show and I would recommend it for anyone who loves magic.

Eddy Greentree (age 8)

The show is a story about fairies and dragons. You sit down and listen to a story and at the end you do activities. When we walked in, we found a room with amazing hand-made trees and leaves, with fairy lights, pictures on the wall and big stone doorway. There were activities to do while you waited at the start or end of the show, with fairy and dragon colouring in sheets and face painting.

The actors were dressed as fairies and a fairy apprentice. A lot of the children in the audience were also dressed up as fairies or knights or dragons or pirates. We all went into a room which was a dragon’s cave, where the fairies help the dragons. The main fairy told a story about ogres, dragons and fairies which the kids enjoyed a lot. Then we did some activities and dancing before the end of the show.

The fairies were really good at entertaining all the kids and keeping them interested. The show was not quite what I was expecting because we were sitting down for a lot of it. The best part of the show was the set and lighting, which looked very realistic. I think the show was good for kids under five years because the younger kids were most enthusiastic.  

Pictured top: Fairy apprentice Sam Renton-Weir holds a baby dragon in ‘Beyond the Dragon’s Lair’. Photo by Leon Ewing.

Beyond the Dragons Lair runs until 18 April at Subiaco Arts Centre.