Ever wondered what a dinosaur zoo would be like?

Thanks to Erth – an innovative Australian theatre company – there’s a chance to find out.

The company is bringing an array of prehistoric creatures, from baby dinos to teeth-gnashing giants, to Bradford next week.

Director Scott Wright describes the show as a “live animal presentation”.

“It’s much like you might see at a zoo or a wildlife park, but we have dinosaurs – from small babies to some of the largest ever found,” he says. “We teach the audience aspects of animal husbandry and invite some members of the audience on to the stage to assist us with feeding and caring for our dinosaurs.”

The dinosaurs are operated by skilled puppeteers. “Thanks to the magic of theatre and people’s desire to suspend their disbelief, more often that not just two minutes after you announce that all the dinosaurs are puppets, people forget and continue on the journey,” says Scott.

He and his team had been custom-making lifelike dinosaur puppets for museums around the world before starting to put on street shows at festivals in Australia five years ago.

“It snowballed into the show it is today,” he says. “There is nothing like it and because it’s Australian, it has a fun, edgy charm to it. Most people’s experience of dinosaurs is based on inanimate objects in museums or as animated creatures in film or television, so by bringing our dinosaurs on to the stage, we come one step closer.”

Scott’s interest in dinosaurs began in childhood. “I remember making a papier mache dinosaur with my dad and grandpa which I dragged around with me and it slowly fell apart, but not without a tonne of new paint and repairs. I think it eventually made way for Star Wars action figures.”

Now Scott brings new creatures “to life” in his workshop, at Erth’s headquarters in Sydney.

“It’s so thrilling to see the process from a rough idea through to physical realisation. I am truly grateful that a childhood dream has become a life-long career and that I’m able to share it with so many people.”

Surprisingly, he’s not a fan of Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.

“I appreciate it kick-started a global resurgence of interest in dinosaurs at a time when it was felt that palaeontology was a dying science. But the commercialisation of dinosaurs is perplexing, ironic coming from me having created a show about dinosaurs, but we hope we provide a fresh way of looking at them by not anthropomorphising them,” he says.

“None of the dinosaurs in our show speak, or teach children to count, nor do they wear clothes, drive trains or live in houses.

“Of course dinosaurs can be used as a gateway for learning, but sometimes this can be exploited well beyond any real validation. We hope that in our show that we at least impart some valued lessons about the true nature of animal behaviour while having fun, too.”

The team is working on a new show about an Australian creature that became extinct 80 years ago.

“It's a beautiful piece that has been designed with an exhibition featuring artifacts and artworks,” says Scott. “This way we meld the worlds of museums and theatre together to explore a broad perspective of opinions and facts, and at the same time it’s very moving for children and adults alike.

“We also have plans for other prehistoric shows and some classic contemporary children’s stories which we will reveal to our growing number of fans who come on board with Dinosaur Zoo over the coming years.”

  • Dinosaur Zoo is at St George’s Hall from today until Sunday. For tickets, ring (01274) 432000.