Five minutes with… Milkshake! presenter Amy Thompson

Milkshake! Live is coming to Hull City Hall on Saturday 5 August. We grabbed five minutes with one of the fabulous presenters, Amy Thompson.

Promising appearances from kids’ TV favourites, such as Bob the Builder, Wissper, Fireman Sam and Shimmer and Shine, the live show is bound to be exciting. Amy (above centre) will be also on stage alongside Jen Pringle and the much-loved screen characters to guide the audience through some well-known fairy tales.

Great to speak with you Amy, can you tell us a little about the show?

So, the premise of the show is that Milkshake! Monkey wants to be a fairytale prince. However, he’s not quite sure how he can become one.

We start off in the Milkshake! Magical Bookcase and the Milkshake! Fairy Godmother sends Monkey into lots of different stories so that he can decide on the type of prince he wants to be.

That sounds interesting. So, how do the Milkshake! characters fit into all of this?

There are so many stories that the kids will recognise, such as Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin and Hansel and Gretel, amongst many others.

Through these, we meet a number of the Milkshake! characters, such as Pip from Pip Ahoy! Winnie and Wilbur, Noddy and Little Princess.

It’s a chance for the kids to see all of their favourite Milkshake! personalities on stage in stories that they’ll know and love.

Shimmer and Shine are genies, so they pop up in the story of Aladdin to help Monkey on his quest. Meanwhile, Fireman Sam comes to save the day when Dick Whittington leaves his oil lamp unattended. Each character fits into the narrative really well. It’s a lovely production and very story-driven.

Is there a lot of audience participation?

Of course! We need the audience’s help to make sure Monkey stays on track during his journey.

There are a lot of activities for the children to get involved in. They can interact with the characters and immerse themselves in the tale. There’s also plenty of singing and lots of dancing throughout the show. It’s great fun for all the family.

You also present Milkshake! on TV. How different is it from performing on stage?

When you’re doing a TV link, you’re in the studio with the cameramen and that’s kind of it. But on stage, you get to feel the energy of the audience.

For me, my heart is definitely in the theatre. I grew up watching theatre shows and my first professional job was an actress. I love it, it’s just magical.

A lot of these children have never been to the theatre before, so I feel it’s a huge responsibility to make sure they have the best experience. Hopefully they’ll come back again and again and fall in love with it like I did.

I’m very passionate about theatre, but it’s also very exciting being on the television.

Do you think it’s important for young children to have access to the live arts?

I really do! Unfortunately, there are a lot of cuts within the arts and theatre industry, but I think it’s so vital for children.

Drama is such a key subject for young people. It lets you express your feelings, even if you don’t want to become an actress or actor in the future.

It teaches you human interaction, communication, and helps you to become a better person. Theatre doesn’t always have to educate, it can make you think, make you feel and just simply entertain.

Hull UK City of Culture is such a great thing for the city. Being from here originally, I’m really proud that we were given the title.

Unfortunately tickets are no longer available for this event.