Same Same…But Different at The Hippodrome Birmingham

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Inspired by the well known Anglo-Asian phrase ‘Same Same…But Different’, this new family show made it’s appearance yesterday at The Hippodrome Birmingham and we were very kindly asked to go along.  We love visiting the theatre and I am always on the look out for shows we know and love, as well as productions that we may not have heard of.  I am intrigued to see and learn new things, and visiting the theatre is a great way to do this.

Same Same…But different, meaning ‘Yes, something kind of similar but not exact same thing’, is a show involving 3 dancers, who mix contemporary, Kathak and street dance to offer the viewer a magical and playful show of dane and story telling.  Bringing a wealth of diversity, this show was one I wanted understand and learn from, especially for the children who have not seen any Kathak dancing before.

On the afternoon of Thursday 21st February, my Mum, kids and I were warmly welcomed by the staff at The Hippodrome who showed us what activities were on offer prior to the show.  As with Emily and The Thing, the production was being held in the Patrick Studio which is a smaller theatre situated just off the main lobby of The Hippodrome.  Off all the years I have visited The Hippodrome, I never knew it had a second theatre until we visited at Christmas.

The Patrick Studio is a more personal and is a great place to bring small scale productions to life.  With just over 200 seats, it really offers that exclusive feel.

Same Same…but different at The Hippodrome Birmingham

Same Same..But different at The Hippodrome Birmingham

Same Same…But different is a family show aimed at children over 5 years.  The show was 1 hour long and was led by three fantastic dancers, all who held the show together incredibly well.  To capture children’s (and adults!) attention for a long period of time is tough!  With a real mix of dance and a hint of humour, by the sounds of the audience’s laughter, I think the show won everyone over.  As the show is aimed at 5 years and over, my 4 year old did get itchy feet during some parts of the show, so I would recommend that this show would be aimed at older children and adults alike.

As with any show, they are all different and unique in their own right.  This show was unique in that it was purely dance and mime, with no real conversation.  Instead, we saw live music, dance, spoken word and even body percussion and beat boxing.  There was also some musical instruments and props involved too.

Same Same…but Different

With the use of all the above, the main story behind this show was to explore diversity and difference between individuals.  And it was great to see this done in various ways, switching from humour, to sadness across fun and uplifting scenes.

We enjoyed our visit to see Same Same…But Different at The Hippodrome Birmingham, which is finishing it’s final leg of its tour over the next few days.  If you wish to catch this show, it is showing until Saturday 23rd February 2019 and tickets are on sale for £10 each.

Thanks for reading xxx

*This is a collaborative post.  We were kindly gifted our tickets to see the show in exchange for this blog post*