It’s a beautiful Saturday morning, the sun is shining as my granddaughter, and cub reporter Violet, and I walk into Bradford Alhambra ready to watch In The Night Garden live on-stage. Violet can remember watching the programme and has told me all about the characters I am likely to meet, Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka and many more. The TV programme first aired in 2007 soon becoming a mainstay for pre-school children, with the live stage show premiering in 2010, since then the stage show has been seen by over 1.2 million.

If you’re reading this you’re probably already familiar with the story line as the friends have little adventures before going to bed, all narrated by a wonderfully serious and dignified Sir Derek Jacobi. This show, subtitled Igglepiggle’s Busy Day, is written by Helen Eastman and directed by acclaimed Royal Ballet choreographer Will Tuckett enchants young and old alike and will ensure audiences for live theatre for many years to come. The show is an immersive experience and as we enter the auditorium we enter the world of the Night Garden with all the magic of the TV programme where Igglepiggle and his friends live in an enchanted forest rife with colourful flowers and tweeting birds. There’s a definite buzz of excitement, mainly from the younger members of the audience and they’re certainly more energetic than any theatre audience I've seen, obviously they’re having a good time already – and the real fun hasn't even started yet.

The story is told with the aid of actors in full-size costumes and magical puppets all complemented with enchanting music and dancing and not forgetting Jacobi’s stately recorded voiceover, projections and many more wonderful surprises. You know you’re in a special place when there is an appearance of a real-life flying Pinky Ponk soaring right out over the heads of the audience. This is a first for UK theatres, and uses cutting-edge aerodynamic technology pioneered by the specialist German company, Airstage. Similar Air Orbs have been designed and built all over the world, including for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, but this is a first for UK theatres.

At 11 years old, Violet maybe a little older than the target audience, but her eyes are wide with excitement and as I look around, I see the younger members are as equally entranced. There is much excited pointing, waving and clapping. As each of the main characters sing their song the younger members of our audience singalong and I have to admit I couldn’t help myself joining in, especially when Upsy Daisy made her first appearance and the toddler next to me started singing along with a beaming smile on her face.

At just under an hour long this is a perfect introduction to live theatre and ensures that no-one starts to get the fidgets and in the end we've all had a great time. It's hard to imagine a show more likely to engage little ones more and give them a sense of the magic of theatre.