New Zealand Sevens star D J Forbes and actor/director Oliver Driver are dwarfed by the dinosaurs. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Fifteen life-size dinosaurs are to stomp and roar their way around Vector Arena when the $26 million production Walking with Dinosaurs arrives in June.
The show, based on the BBC television series of the same name, will tell the story of dinosaur evolution using electronically-operated puppets that took 50 people
more than a year to create.
Event creator Bruce Mactaggart describes the show as "edutainment", an informative yet theatrical interpretation of how dinosaurs interacted with one another and what led to their extinction over 200 million years ago.
Mr Mactaggart says the show allows the audience to come up close and personal to the realistic creatures.
The tallest dinosaur in the show is a 22m-brachiosaurus - only five metres shorter than the roof of the Vector Arena.
A seven-metre, tyrannosaurus rex, made from 296m of fabric, 132m of foam and 1km of cabling, will also be in the exhibition.
The dinosaurs are controlled by an electronic driver and two puppeteers who operate the head and tail motion as well as minor movements, such as blinking.
"Walking with Dinosaurs was conceived to be big in every respect and it certainly is that. Not just the incredible life-size dinosaurs but the lighting, the sets, the music, make it a once in a lifetime, must-see theatrical event," said Mr Mactaggart.
The show originated in Australia in 2007 and has been seen by seven million people worldwide.
It grossed more than US$104.1 million ($134 million) last year - more profitable than the world-wide tours of either U2 or Lady Gaga.
Tickets go on sale on February 11.
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