Bromley-based businessman showcases RentaDinosaur show – lighthearted with a bit of education slipped in
Anyone who has ever liked dinosaurs will have wondered what they actually look like in real life. It is difficult to imagine how they moved and behaved from the fossils that we have discovered.
Bromley-based businessman Chris Coulson became obsessed with the puppetry of dinosaurs after he saw the Walking with Dinosaurs Arena Show seven years ago.
Mr Coulson, 54, now runs a travelling theatre company, and his company, RentaDinosaur, has done events with the Crystal Palace dinosaurs, and performed in Bromley, Petts Wood and Orpington as well as in other parts of the country at festivals, zoos, farm parks and shopping centres.
They have also attended high society, celebrity and Premiership footballer parties with the dinosaurs.
RentaDinosaur received a Back to business grant after the pandemic, and in February they performed shows for Bexleyheath BID (Business Improvement District) which helped boost footfall in the town centre.
They have been booked again to do a similar event on July 16 in Bexleyheath, another chance for South London kids to meet the dinos at their usual spot by the Clocktower.
Town centre manager, Caron Linyard: “We were very happy at the buzz and excitement generated by RentaDinosaur and our dinosaur event in Bexleyheath.
“We welcomed hundreds of visitors to meet our dinosaurs throughout the day and we were thrilled by the huge response to our dino trail egg hunt.
After such a tough couple of years for everyone, it was wonderful to see all the families out together, enjoying our high street and making memories that will last a lifetime”.
Mr Coulson said “We usually do four 30 minute shows, and we try to keep the shows light-hearted and funny with a bit of education slipped in when nobody’s looking.
“They’re quite slapstick sometimes, because that’s what we love to do, and it’s great to be putting smiles on faces again.
“I remember when I first had the idea of having dinosaurs made and renting them out, I thought, we can only do so many parties in a weekend. Then my business partner, Anna Littler, had the idea of doing big shows to large audiences instead.”
Their main show at the moment is How to train your dinosaur where children in the audience volunteer and take part to help demonstrate training techniques with the dinosaurs. They use some cues from cat and dog training.
Their biggest dinosaur is six metres long and two metres high, which is a two-person Triceratops.
Mr Coulson said: “We have five big dinosaurs, and we have 20 small dinosaurs. We have a core team and also employ freelance professional puppeteers and actors.”
