Prehistoric meets playhouse: powering Dinosaur World Live

66 million years later, the ultimate comeback tour is well underway. We reveal the invisible tools powering the dino show that refuses to go extinct. 

Words Verity Butler

There are certain aspects of history, the animal kingdom or famous characters that always make for great entertainment. Be it greedy Henry VIII and his six wives, the grave World Wars of the early 20th century or the majestic lions and giraffes of the Savannah, there are some things that, simply put, just make great telly.

One topic that has been a timeless favourite is the Jurassic world. With both adults and children forming captivated audiences the depiction of dinosaurs just never seems to get old.

The obvious example that boosted these prehistoric creatures meteorically into the mainstream (excuse the pun) was, of course, the blockbuster Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchises that together comprise a stonking seven full feature-length films. The latest released only last year.

Beyond that, dinosaurs have served as a reptilian muse for the iconic likes of old-school Doctor Who, The Flintstones, Barney & Friends (do purple puppets count?) and many, many documentaries throughout the years.

Despite their world-wide appeal, it has been a little trickier to take dinosaurs from screen to stage. Given their sheer scale and complex features, it has often seemed that theme park rides and attractions – which deploy animatronic creatures – were the best way to bring them into a live context.

Nonetheless, dinosaurs did in fact make their theatre debut back in 2018, at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London, with the now Olivier Award-winning family show, Dinosaur World Live. Having recently evolved into an international touring production, April 2026 saw the show complete a successful leg in the US.

But crucially, what AV tools were used to resurrect these legendary creatures almost 66 million years post-extinction?

A dino-mite depiction

Full of prehistoric wonder, Dinosaur World Live features a host of impressive creatures, from dino-babies right up to the fan-favourite – the murderous Tyrannosaurus rex.

Life-size puppets are central to this production, allowing audiences to meet an incredible line-up of dinosaurs, from a Triceratops and Giraffatitan to a Microraptor and Segnosaurus.

Designed by Max Humphries and created by Unit 9 Puppet Workshop, they are operated by expert puppeteers and crafted from lightweight aluminium, foam, cloth and treated fur – all of which are made to achieve realistic movement without electronics – very similar to the puppetry deployed in productions of The Lion King.

Max Humphries is a renowned puppet designer who has worked with the Royal Opera House and Cirque du Soleil. His approach to the puppets’ structure was to utilise lightweight foam to form the muscles, which he then would cover in cloth or treated fur, to simulate skin and feathers.

Crucially, the life-size puppets are not animatronic. Instead, they are ‘voodoo’ puppets, meaning they are operated by dedicated puppeteers who use rods and other mechanisms to control head movements, blinking and breathing – while drivers inside navigate them.

A roarsome effect

To add key layers of drama, emphasis and anticipation to the show, the production crew turned to Look Solutions, travelling with a Viper NT and Unique 2.1.

Hayden Camidge the company stage manager explains what it was like to keep a show like this on the road and make it a hit time after time.

“I studied lighting design and production at drama school in London,” he comments. “A couple of months after graduating, I changed course and began working as a company stage manager. I loved it!”

For Dinosaur World Live, Camidge is not just heading up the company as a whole. “I am also the show’s re-lighter – responsible for recreating the lighting design in every tour venue – and I have to mix sound for all of the performances.”

The dinosaur-world set is created on a clear stage, and the production has to be streamlined for a touring context. That meant having the correct tools for the job was absolutely essential.

Camidge chose to employ Look Solutions Unique 2.1 to deliver haze and create atmosphere for the lighting states. The Viper NT has a critical role in adding atmosphere, too, to inject the moment of the Tyrannosaurus rex’s entrance with a wow factor.

“We use the Viper NT to create a dense fog effect for the entrance of our T. rex, Titus,” Camidge continues. “It is normally utilised for a few seconds at full to make a powerful blast of fog and to punctuate his entrance into the space.”

The Look Solutions Viper NT is a 1300W fog machine and is available in 120 or 240V versions. It is the most frequently used of all Look Solutions’ fog machines, due to its reliability, impressive output and maintenance-free cycle. It is able to generate fog at full output for 40 seconds or run continuously at a reduced output level. The Viper NT has a digital timer, stand-alone controls and a five-pin DMX interface, giving many options for control.

The team at Dinosaur World Live use Regular Fluid for the Viper and Unique Fluid for the Unique 2.1, bought directly from Look Solutions USA. As Camidge concludes, working with dependable, local suppliers means the world when you run into difficulties while on tour.

“I would absolutely recommend Look Solutions,” he emphasises. “We have had great success with the machines. They are reliable, dependable and create great atmospheric effects.”

The US tour continues until the beginning of May before stomping back to the UK this summer.