In The Night Garden is a programme which my son adores.
Yet, I unashamedly admit that Mummy might have been just as excited (if not a bit more than) as 2-year-old Nathan to attend a screening at the Notting Hill Picturehouse last Friday.
The day started with exceptional glee as Nathan received a visit from the postman that morning and there was a lovely surprise gasp as he opened the parcel to find a gorgeous Iggle Piggle costume which fitted my little man perfectly (My mistake was putting it on him before he had breakfast as I had to do quite a tough negotiation in order to prise him out of his garments for twenty minutes!) Nathan was ever so proud of his attire on the entire journey from Stratford to Notting Hill and he kept telling total strangers on the Tube that he was Iggle Piggle!
When we got to the venue, we were a bit dazed by the excitement of seeing little Upsy Daisies and Iggle Piggles all around the entrance of the cinema and Nathan knew that a new experience was forthcoming. He bounded straight into the cinema and met Alex from CBeebies who gave him a gorgeous ITNG carry case full of goodies (all the little people got these) and he wasn’t the least bit fazed by the darkened cinema. Nathan being Nathan, he ran straight to the front of the cinema and joined in the dancing on the little stage with the other Upsy Daisies and Iggle Piggles in attendance.
When the movie was about to start, we found our seats and while the title music played, there was this magical silence in the hall. Parents and kiddies alike were anxiously awaiting that little boat with the red sail. We found ourselves singing and dancing and responding to the story just as we would do at home, but having the characters so large was fantastic! Nathan was mesmerised seeing his characters super-sized and he also noticed the projection room window and the projector’s lights which I had to explain was where the screen (oooh look at that!) magic came from.
This being Nathan’s first-ever visit to the cinema was both exciting and nerve-wracking. I was petrified that he wouldn’t settle, that he would be begging to leave (at the top of his lungs) because it was dark, or that he would have his second-ever tantrum and totally make me wish the floor would open up and swallow me whole but I needn’t have worried because he was completely captivated by the on-screen antics and the familiarity of the show and its characters made him completely at ease. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and was content throughout the viewing! Whew!
Then, in what seemed like no time at all, we were all applauding and the lights were coming up – the film was over!
Well, the film might have been, but all these little bodies dressed up as Iggle and Upsy weren’t ready to leave! Yes, you guessed it – they were all back on the stage dancing away to the theme tune!
My excitement went up an octave when I realised that we were sitting just behind Cerrie and Alex from CBeebies. Yes, I shamelessly asked for their autograph for Nathan obviously and then had the honour of having Nathan photographed with Andrew Davenport, the writer of ITNG!
What a fabulous way to have such a wonderful first-time experience recorded! This day will live in both our memories for quite some time to come – this is the good stuff my little boy’s dreams are made of.
March 2009
The fortnight of screenings at 18 Picturehouse Cinemas in the UK began on March 20th and will go on until April 2nd 2009.
If you miss out this time, watch out for the next chapter of In the Night Garden adventures coming to DVD and a Picturehouse Cinema near you in November 2009. Explore www.inthenightgarden.co.uk for all the latest news, ticket information and full listing details and now don’t delay, book today! | 
The Dirty Dozen
