Walking with Dinosaurs − The Arena Spectacular

Walking with Dinosaurs − The Arena Spectacular was a live stage show based on the 1999 BBC series *Walking with Dinosaurs*. It first opened in 2007 and ended its performances in 2018.

The first act began with a view of Earth during the Triassic period, when the supercontinent Pangaea dominated. The landscape was filled with conifers and ferns, with no flowering plants. The narrator, Huxley, described the closest relative of humans at that time as looking like a cross between a mongoose and a lizard. The Triassic was a world of deserts and droughts. Huxley pointed out a nest of *Plateosaurus* eggs, explaining that all animals on Pangaea laid eggs to cope with the dry conditions. Two eggs hatched, but a *Liliensternus* soon appeared and ate one of the hatchlings. Huxley noted the success of the theropod body plan. When the drought ended and rain fell, small green plants grew on the rock where the eggs sat. An abundance of food allowed early dinosaurs to grow huge. An adult *Plateosaurus* then appeared, feeding on the new plants and showing adaptations for the arid climate. It protected its surviving hatchling and twice drove off the *Liliensternus*. After the predator left, three juvenile *Plateosaurus* emerged from the rock structure, roamed the arena, and followed the adult offstage.

Huxley then introduced plate tectonics. At the end of the Triassic, Pangaea began to split apart, leaving narrow seaways. The single rock structure in the arena broke into three pieces. New mountains and ocean currents changed the climate, bringing more rain and lush vegetation. Horsetails appeared around the arena edges, and trees grew from the central rocks. The audience had entered the Jurassic Period.

Huxley spotted a theropod footprint and explained how trace fossils reveal dinosaur behavior. More footprints appeared, first showing the theropod walking, then a herbivore’s tracks, likely a sauropod. The theropod tracks caught up to the herbivore’s, suggesting an attack, accompanied by dinosaur sounds. The footprints vanished, and a *Stegosaurus* emerged. Huxley guessed its back plates were used for display to deter predators. An *Allosaurus* then appeared, stuck its head into the horsetails, pulled out a lizard, and ate it. Unsatisfied, it attacked the *Stegosaurus*, which fought back. A lightning storm caused a forest fire, burning the horsetails and trees. The *Stegosau