The Waterside Arts Centre in Sale, Greater Manchester is one of my favourite theatre venues. It’s small enough for you to really feel part of the action, but not so small that you are part of the action. Earlier this week we went to see Unbelievable Science with Morgan & West. A show which promised captivating chemistry, phenomenal physics, and bonkers biology in their fun for all the family science extravaganza!

My son, who has recently started high school and fallen in love with science in a big way, was very keen to go. I was equally keen, as the thought of science as entertainment sounded pretty brilliant to me. Part scientists, part magicians, Morgan and West begin their hour long show with some good old fashioned chemistry; with chemical reactions aplenty. This was a great way to start, as everyone loves a chemical reaction, and there were ooohs and aaahs aplenty!

It was an hour long march through the scientific world, but a thought provoking one. It gently touched on some of the things we all ought to be thinking about; climate change for one. Some difficult topics were explained simply, so that a child, or an adult who didn’t do very well in her science GCSE could understand. It really was a fast-paced show, one which I think we would benefit from seeing again, because it was so fun, but so fast.

Science really is the star of the show here, but Morgan and West are both brilliant. In a previous incarnation, they were both high school science teachers. Now they make people laugh, and bring joy and knowledge to theatres up and down the land. The show really is funny, West plays the straight man, and Morgan the likable idiot. Together they have created a really engaging show. They used comedy in a way to really hook in the audience, the whizz bangs and astonishing scientific tricks made everyone ooh and ahh. And afterwards they often do meet and greet sessions, so you can meet and chat to them both.

Earlier I mentioned that they were part scientists and part magicians. My Dad was a magician and having grown up in a house where ladies were endlessly being sawn in half and 10p coins forever being pulled out of my ears, I know how closely related science and magic are. It was so good to see them both in the same show. Fear not, members of the Magic Circle, no secrets are revealed. Please go to see this show for the science, but stay for the magic, which is very (very) well done.

The hour long show is packed, and I mean packed with experiments and demonstrations. There’s a 3D section towards the end which is just brilliant. Definitely one of the best demonstrations of how 3D works that I’ve ever seen. I reckon if these guys had been my science teachers at school, I might have passed a few more exams!

My son (aged 11) absolutely loved the show. He really wanted to meet Morgan and West after the show, so we stayed to make that happen. He was really fired up by Unbelievable Science and chose to read up about chemistry when he got home. It really is so good to see a show like this, which entertains as much as it educates and inspires.

Unbelievable Science with Morgan & West is on a UK tour, with some Christmas specials coming up too. We would really recommend it. It’s one of the best things we’ve seen and we went home excited for our science homework (I know, right) and feeling like we’d had the best afternoon out.

Unbelievable Science with Morgan & West is currently on tour across the UK, and you can find a list of their tour dates here.

The Waterside Arts Centre in Sale, Greater Manchester is brilliant and they have an eclectic programme which you can find here.