Hi5 - Alexandra Theatre
There are lots of interesting statistics about this bunch of Australian children's entertainers.
They have won awards galore around the globe for their television shows, and for the six to nine months every year they are touring as a live stage act, they move tickets in the kind of numbers that leave theatre managements with a contented smile.
We took our two kids. We got the official Hi5 hands to wave going in and Tshirts on the way out and didn't get much change from £40. Take a bunch of kids and buy flashing baseball caps, flags, pens, and various items of
clothing (which many families were doing) and it makes the cost of top opera and ballet shows look paltry.
Which brings me to the most interesting statistic about Hi5. In the latest Australian Rich List of entertainers, the group occupy the Number 4 slot - one above Kylie.
So what generates this massive wealth?
Tune in to Channel 5's Milkshake segment to see them do their stuff. They dance, they sing, rather in the style of manufactured pop groups like Steps, and they work in one or two educational angles.
So simple, but stunningly effective.
My grandchildren, aged six and four, have never enjoyed a show so much. So forget the criticism. This is a pop-style formula that works brilliantly with the individual personalities shining through. Nathan is a natural and cheeky comedian, and charmed the mums and dads, and Charli has the look and poise of the next Nicole Kidman.
Along with Katherine, Kellie and Tim (who told me he's been doing it for seven years) they all seem actually to enjoy it.
With bank balances like that, who wouldn't?
Sid Langley
