Walking With Dinosaurs, Arena Birmingham, review - with pictures

Based on the hit BBC TV series, the popular production has been watched by more than nine million people in 250 cities around the world.

The audience were immediately plunged into prehistoric times as they stepped into the main room, and were greeted by boulders, vegetation, and gigantic teeth decorating the stage.

An announcement upped the anticipation factor even further, as a male voice instructed the crowd to turn off their camera flash as it may scare the 'normally friendly dinosaurs'.

Former Really Wild Show, Springwatch and Countryfile presenter Michaela Strachan was our Prehistoric guide for the night, as she played the role of peppy palaeontologist Huxley.

She began our journey by explaining the wonder of fossils, before instructing us to hold onto our seats as we were about to 'travel through time'.

Even though I knew this was just a show, there were moments throughout the performance that I questioned if what I was viewing was real.

Artificial plants blossomed from the stage as we travelled from the Triassic period through to the Jurassic, trees towered above the audience, and wondrous flowers blossomed as we welcomed the Cretaceous period.

Large boulders moved across the stage to signify the splitting of super continent Pangea across millions of years, before exploding with lights and smoke to illustrate the formation of volcanoes.

This stage movement received gasps of wonder from across the venue, but this was nothing compared to the reactions the dinosaurs themselves would conjure.

The £15m production featured new, state of the art technology, and this updated production showcased spectacular and colourful changes to the dinosaurs based on the latest scientific research, with some species having feathers for the first time.

I gasped aloud when dinosaur eggs 'hatched' on stage to reveal tiny Plateosaurus, and was shocked when a devilish Liliensternus prowled onto the stage to feast upon them.

Despite being a family show, Walking With Dinosaurs did not shy away from showcasing the trials that dinosaurs faced. Mighty Torosaurus' battled for their position in the herd, a Stegosaurus had to fend for their lives against the mighty Allosaurus, and the elements drastically changed through the expert use of lighting and sound effects.

A real highlight of the show were two life-size Brachiosaurus' grazing from mind-bogglingly tall tree branches, before their heads leaned over the crowd. Despite knowing they were only animatronic dinosaurs, this wondrous action sent shivers down my spine.

While thoroughly entertaining and packed full of theatrical surprise, Walking With Dinosaurs is also filled with fascinating facts told by the charismatic and engaging Huxley that.

The show reached a heart-stopping climax when a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex was cornered by a Torosaurus and a heavily-armoured Ankylosaurus. As if this wasn't exciting enough, a fully-grown T-Rex, arguably the most fearsome dinosaur that ever walked the Earth, let out a bellowing roar before coming to save her young.

Both gigantic T-Rex's proceeded to skulk across the stage, letting out heart-stopping roars that even caused me to let out a scream.

The show ended with the destruction of the dinosaurs, caused by a comet hitting the Earth and forming what is now known as the Gulf of Mexico.

This devastating occurrence was shown through eerie flashing red lights and a deafening silence that juxtaposed harshly against the animalistic sounds of the dinosaurs that had been heard throughout the evening.

Walking With Dinosaurs is an action-packed journey through time that will have you gripped to the edge of your seat from start to finish.

It brought the wonder of dinosaurs to life, and truly made me respect the majesty and importance of the colossal creatures that once ruled our earth.