Show favourites, Bluey, Bingo, Bandit and Chilli Healer were brought to life in puppet form for their first live theatre appearance Bluey's Big Play The Stage Show. The show wraps up in Warrnambool on Thursday.

Lighthouse Theatre service manager Xavier Dannock said the response from youngsters and their families had been overwhelmingly positive. "The kids have absolutely loved the show, they've had a fantastic time with Bluey and all of her friends on stage," Mr Dannock said. "The kids and their parents have had an amazing time.

"From my perspective it's so fantastic to have kids exposed to live theatre at a really young age because it reinforces how wonderful the different mediums are. For them to have that experience when they're young, they're more likely to return when they're a bit older."

He said there would be eight shows in the city across the three days to a total audience of about 2500 people. A limited number of tickets remain for Thursday's shows.

Warrnambool mum Rebecca Keane said her daughter Eden, 2, was captivated by the lighting, set changes and special effects which included flying birds and bubbles.

"She was totally entertained the whole time from start to finish," Mrs Keane said. "It was the first theatre show that Eden's been to and we weren't sure how she was going to go but she sat still the whole time. She was mesmerised by the life-sized puppets.

"We all love Bluey. As a family we'll sit and watch Bluey. It's got a nice little moral to the story at the end. It's entertaining for parents and kids which is good. It's Australian. It's made in Brisbane, that all helps. You can relate to it and it's Australian humour."

There were 300 people at each of the 45-minute shows due to the current COVID-19 restrictions.

The south-west was the second stop of Bluey's much-anticipated Bluey's Big Play The Stage Show which opened in Melbourne at the Arts Centre on Friday.

The show will visit other regional centres including Hamilton (July 8) Warragul, Horsham, Bendigo, Wangaratta, Shepparton, Ballarat and Sale as well as some outer Melbourne suburbs in coming weeks.

The acclaimed theatrical adaptation of the Emmy® award-winning children's television series, Bluey's Big Play The Stage Show featured an original story by Bluey creator Joe Brumm and new music by Bluey composer, Joff Bush.

Show director Rosemary Myers said "like the rest of Australia, we love Bluey and it's a thrill and privilege to bring these brilliant characters into the three dimensional world," Ms Myers said.

Loved by both parents and kids, Bluey is the most-watched series ever on ABC iview, with more than 480 million plays across series 1 & 2.

For tickets to Thursday's shows call the Lighthouse Theatre box office on 5559 4999 or go to lighthousetheatre.com.au

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