Guest Blog: Jamie Chapman Dixon on the Magic of Bringing Internet Sensation BLIPPI THE MUSICAL to the Stage

Blippi the Musical was an unknown entity to me until I babysat my nephew Otis. At just two years old, he was obsessed with this blue and orange character (and knew how to work his mum's iPad better than I did...).

He was scrolling through videos, pausing and rewinding, and it made me realise how in-tune kids are with technology these days, which is fantastic! But, it also made me think that there should be a push to re-engage them with live performance. So, the idea of bringing a YouTube show to the stage, whilst it was not something that we had thought about previously, soon became something that I couldn't get out of my head.

The past few years have been tough. The industry shut its doors due to the Covid pandemic and we are far from being fully recovered from the financial and health repercussions of it. Introducing a show to the stage that was created via a social media platform such as YouTube is just another way that producers are looking to think outside of the box within the industry, in order to bring new yet relatable content to audiences.

Any production is currently a risk and it is hard to gain investor confidence during a time period that has consisted of so many shifts and brick walls. This being said, it is our duty to ensure that the content we bring to the stage feeds a wide variety of audiences and not just those that we are personally interested in.

Creating a children's production compared to an adult show is an incredibly different process which challenges both the creative team and production team to identify with who they are presenting the story to. High energy and bright colours are obvious options for a children's production, but with attention spans decreasing due to the introduction of platforms such as Tik-Tok, teams need to really think outside of the box to keep their attention.

Shows such as Blippi the Musical give an important insight into how the magic of theatre can create a story in front of your eyes whilst teaching you core life lessons. Our hope is that focusing more of our time into the children's market, we will be able to introduce individuals to theatre at a younger age and hopefully helping in some way to cementing the audiences of the future.

It is incredibly exciting to be producing a show like Blippi - often social media platforms like YouTube can be considered unproductive for kids but, we shouldn't overlook its benefits. Fundamentally, Blippi is a learning resource, that has grown from YouTube - he keeps children curious and gives them the freedom to ask questions about the world they are growing up in. So, in my opinion, what would be better than combining the valuable assets of social media channels such as this one, with the thrill of live theatre? It results in the world's most exciting lesson!

Blippi the Musical may be one of the first YouTube stage shows in the West End but it definitely won't be the last.

Blippi The Musical is at the Lyric Theatre from 7 December 2022 - 8 January 2023

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