FAMILY WEEKLY UPDATE: 13th – 19th April | Zog, Matilda Backstage Tour, Legally Blonde & Easter Holiday Theatre Trips
- May 10
- 6 min read
Family Weekly Update
This week was the second week of the Easter holidays, so things ended up feeling very busy — but in the best possible way. We had lots of family theatre trips, days out across Manchester and Liverpool, and some genuinely special moments that I know we’ll remember for a very long time.
From dragon-sized adventures at The Lowry and magical puppets at Z-arts to an unforgettable backstage tour at Manchester Palace Theatre, this week honestly felt packed from start to finish.
Here’s everything we got up to this week.
💻 Editing, Blogging & A Quiet Start to the Week
Monday ended up being a fairly quiet day at home after such a busy first week of the Easter holidays.
While the children spent most of the day happily playing with their toys and watching Toy Story films together, I spent the day catching up on video editing for YouTube alongside writing blog posts and social media content.
Honestly, it felt like one of those much-needed slower days before the rest of the week became incredibly theatre-heavy.
🛹 Sisters 360 at Waterside Arts
On Tuesday, Lawrence joined me and the children for a family theatre trip to see Sisters 360 at Waterside Arts before heading into work for his late shift.
We got the tram there, which honestly makes Waterside Arts such an easy venue for us to visit as it’s only two stops away and directly opposite the tram stop.
We arrived around 11:15am for the 11:30am performance and picked up one of the free little programmes from the box office before heading inside.
We were seated on the front row (Seats 13–16), which meant the children got some lovely interaction during the performance. Alice and Leo both received a handshake from Salima at the start of the show, while Alice also got a fist bump at the end, which she absolutely loved.
The show itself was so much fun and both children were completely engaged throughout.
After the performance, Lawrence headed off to work while I planned to grab lunch nearby with the kids. We originally tried KFC close to the theatre, but as there were no seats available we ended up getting the tram back home and going to McDonald’s instead.
The children were VERY excited because the Happy Meals currently included Mario Galaxy toys, and they both ended up getting little Luma figures.
👉 You can read more about our visit and a short review HERE
👉 And you can find my full review on All About Theatre
🐉 A Roaring Day at The Lowry
Wednesday ended up being a very busy theatre day as Alice and I had not one but two separate trips to The Lowry.
Zog at The Lowry
In the afternoon, my mum joined me and the children for the press performance of Zog in the Quays Theatre.
We had previously seen and loved the show back in 2023, so everyone was very excited to return for more dragon-sized fun.
Before the show began, the children were each given a free programme and sticker, which was such a lovely touch, and while we waited for the auditorium to open they enjoyed some of the free activity sheets.
Alice proudly brought along her pink dragon plush from our previous visit, while Leo picked out a little Zog keyring from the merch stand so he could hold his own dragon during the performance.
The show itself was every bit as fun, lively and heartwarming as we remembered. Alice especially loved roaring along during dragon school, while Leo’s favourite moment was seeing Zog finally earn his golden star.
One of the standout moments came right at the end when invited guests were given the opportunity to meet members of the cast and puppets, including Zog himself and the pink dragon.
Alice absolutely loved this and gave the Zog puppet a huge hug afterwards before proudly announcing it was “the best day ever.”
👉 You can read more about our visit and a short review HERE
👉 And you can find my full review on All About Theatre
📚 An Emotional Evening at The Lowry
Later that evening, Alice, my brother and I headed back to The Lowry to see The Boy at the Back of the Class.
I had seen the production previously in 2024 and remembered just how emotional and impactful the story was, so finally being able to bring Alice this time felt really special.
From the moment the show began, Alice was completely transfixed by the stage and followed the story really closely throughout.
By the interval, she was already telling me how much she loved the show and how kind the children were being towards Ahmet.
Watching her connect so strongly with the themes of kindness, empathy and friendship genuinely made the whole theatre trip feel even more meaningful.
During the interval, we also queued for ice cream after discovering the nearby concession stand had closed — and the queues were definitely very busy!
👉 You can read more about our visit and a short review HERE
👉 And you can find my full review on All About Theatre
💖 A Solo Theatre Trip to Liverpool for Legally Blonde
On Thursday, I travelled to Liverpool Empire for a solo theatre trip to see Legally Blonde The Musical.
As someone who absolutely loves this musical, this was a show I had been looking forward to for such a long time.
I first saw Legally Blonde back in 2010 in London’s West End starring Sheridan Smith and Richard Fleeshman, and it has remained one of my all-time favourite musicals ever since.
After getting the tram into Manchester Victoria, I travelled over to Liverpool Lime Street before grabbing lunch at The North Western Wetherspoons inside the station.
I was especially pleased to see that Hannah Lowther had returned to the role of Elle Woods after being off sick the previous day with tonsillitis.
Thankfully she was back for this performance and honestly she was absolutely sensational.
The production itself was so much fun, with brilliant choreography, fantastic performances and all the pink chaos and energy you could possibly want from Legally Blonde.
Before heading home, I also managed to pick up a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts using a voucher, which definitely felt like a nice little bonus treat after such a lovely theatre day.
👉 You can read more about my visit and a short review HERE
👉 And you can find my full review on All About Theatre
🍽️ Family Lunch & A Very Special Matilda Theatre Trip
Friday started with lunch at Coppice Wood Farm with my parents.
The children spent lots of time in the little play area while waiting for food and made the most of the free kids meals available during half term.
Later that evening, Lawrence and I took Alice to see Matilda The Musical at Manchester Palace Theatre while Leo stayed overnight with my parents.
This theatre trip honestly felt incredibly special because Lawrence and I have loved Matilda for years and had wanted to bring Alice for such a long time.
The production itself was fantastic, but what made the evening completely unforgettable was the backstage tour Richard Hurst very kindly arranged for us afterwards.
Meeting Richard was such a lovely experience and he was absolutely wonderful with Alice throughout.
He showed us around backstage, including Trunchbull’s desk, wigs, costumes, quick-change areas and even explained how the famous blackboard trick works.
Alice also got to hold Trunchbull’s magnifying glass and stand on stage itself looking out into the auditorium, which honestly felt surreal.
Before we left, Richard also signed Alice’s souvenir brochure, making the whole evening feel even more magical.
It genuinely became one of those theatre memories I know we’ll treasure forever.
👉 You can read more about our visit and a short review HERE
👉 And you can find my full review on All About Theatre
🐻 Mika and the Polar Bear at Z-arts
On Saturday, the children and I headed to Z-arts to see Mika and the Polar Bear.
As soon as we arrived, the children spotted the adorable “Today I Met the Bear” photo board in the foyer, which immediately added to the excitement of the day.
Inside the auditorium, the performance had already gently begun before we’d even fully settled into our seats, with a performer quietly writing beside softly lit icy set pieces.
The show itself was absolutely beautiful and combined puppetry, dance, animation and music to tell such a lovely, hopeful story.
Both Alice and Leo were completely transfixed throughout and audibly gasped when the polar bear first appeared on stage.
After the show, children were invited to meet Mika and the polar bear puppet in the café area, which completely made the experience for Alice, who absolutely loves puppets.
Before heading home, we also spent some time playing on the big red bus downstairs — something the children always love whenever we visit Z-arts.
👉 You can read more about our visit and a short review HERE
👉 And you can find my full review on All About Theatre
🍝 Birthday Meal at Pesto
We finished the week on Sunday with a meal at Pesto to celebrate one of our friend’s birthdays.
After such a busy week filled with theatre trips, travelling and late nights, it felt like a lovely relaxed way to round off the Easter holidays.
🎥 Watch Our Weekly Vlog
If you’d like to see everything we got up to this week, you can watch this week’s family weekly update vlog below — including our theatre trips, family days out and Easter holiday moments.
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