On Friday night, a packed house at Oxford Playhouse rapturously welcomed in the Chinese Year of the Dragon. The audience was flying, from the moment the curtain rose on a lone acrobat to the glorious conclusion with the full cast on stage carrying an 18-metre illuminated dragon on poles above their heads.

A cross between circus, music hall and pantomime, with a master of ceremonies introducing each act, this was family fun for all ages. The two ‘dynamic lions’- red and gold creations with long bodies and huge masks, concealing acrobats in the manner of a pantomime horse – pranced around the Stalls to the delight of all, before mounting the stage and rearing on their hind legs.

(more…)