Prehistoric Planet: Discovering Dinosaurs @ Lightroom
As the floor rumbles from the deep bass soundtrack, and no matter where you turn you have to look up to see daylight, finding yourself in the middle of a roaming pack of life-sized dinosaurs is an awe-inspiring spectacle that truly capitalises on the potential of Lightroom’s four stories tall space. With photorealistic CGI and extensive use of 360° projections — at one point I witnessed a toddler chasing turtles projected onto the floor — you’ll be forgiven for wondering how the cameramen ever survived filming this amazing footage.
Shot in the well established style of a David Attenborough documentary, I spent half the time staring at the screens with my jaw wide open and the other half wondering how they figured out so many details of a species that died out 65 million years before humans arrived on the planet. That’s a question the producers clearly anticipated, cleverly providing answers throughout the show.
I learned how we now know that many dinosaurs were feathered, and that T-Rex is no longer the biggest and baddest bully on the playground. Not by a long shot! In fact, there were so many dino varieties mentioned that it was more confusing than trying to keep track of all the Marvel superheroes that have been given TV shows. There’s a lot of information crammed into 50 minutes, but the time flies by because every new segment introduces another giant, exotic creature.
Through six chapters that include some oversimplified explanations about things like the science of fossilisation, every familiar trope from modern nature documentaries is replicated faultlessly, albeit with dinosaurs. Pack hunting. Males fighting. Mothers laying eggs, giving birth and nurturing their young. Elderly dinos dying off to complete the circle of life. There’s even a tender T-Rex courtship and mating scene that’s tastefully done. (Dear god… did I just write that?!)
The showstopper is when all the extinct creatures appear together at once, standing like suspects in a police line-up. An elephant, giraffe and London Bus are included so that the enormity of the ancient beasts can be fully appreciated. The narrator encourages the audience to go stand next to them and at the preview I attended one adult male almost trampled over a small child in his enthusiasm to do so. If you’re a dino lover, this is a show that delivers.
Eager for more? A subscription to Apple TV+ will get you access to all ten 40-min episodes of Prehistoric Planet, the series in which many of the scenes first appeared and is narrated by the actual David Attenborough (Damian Lewis is the Lightroom narrator). I haven’t watched the TV episodes so I don’t know how much of the Lightroom show features brand-new content but comparing the two is pointless when the formats are so radically different. Staring up in awe at the enormity of a Dreadnought is a vastly different experience than squinting at one being streamed to your smartphone, but is it worth £25 for an adult ticket?
If you’re a dino fanatic the answer is obvious. For everyone else all I can offer is that this might be the closest you’ll ever get to a real Jurassic Park, except without any of the disastrous consequences depicted in those films. This visit is safe for all ages.
Plan your visit
‘Prehistoric Planet: Discovering Dinosaurs’ runs until 02 November 2025.
Tickets from £25 adult / students & under 18s from £15 / children under 3 free.
Note: Group, family & other discounts available.
Visit lightroom.uk and follow @_lightroomldn on Instagram for more info about the venue and to buy tickets.
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