By Karyn Lee Greig.
Alison Lester is one of Australia’s most preeminent, beloved and bestselling children’s author illustrators. The description that ‘her stories mix imaginary worlds with everyday life, encouraging children to believe in themselves and celebrate the differences that make them special’ sums up her work well. From her first book published in 1986, she has gone on to claim a fistful of prestigious awards and honours, including being made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2019. Her work takes her on speaking engagements, including to schools, and has resonated internationally, such as in Japan and Taiwan. Alison has also drawn on her visits to Antarctica and the Arctic in her work.
After reading her children’s book, Imagine, it was challenging to think how this beautifully simple book for very young children would translate to a 55-minute live show. However, writer/director/ designer, Jolyon James, more than meets this challenge by using the book as a springboard into an exuberant exploration of its ideas and themes, pitched at 4 – 12-year-olds.
We are first presented with the idea that a book can be interpreted in multiple ways depending on how it’s received. The 2 female protagonists see it in different ways: one believes that it’s about ‘imagination’ and the other, that it’s about ‘animals’. Then questions are put to the audience about the possibility of a book being ‘more than one thing’. From here we are taken on a journey through the book, from environment to environment, from jungle to ocean to the Antarctic to the farm, to the time of dinosaurs. Each environment can come alive in a child’s home by using everyday objects and ‘scissors and glue and paint and string’. This becomes a melodic refrain throughout the show.
The use of props is delightful, as we see everything from elephants, ocean life and dinosaurs being created. An enlarged version of Lester’s book is centre stage morphing into various states of being. Three screens are used to great effect with 2 of them being giant mobile phones where Nana and her young granddaughter, Soli, are Facetiming each other. This connection is clearly mutually enriching in various ways including for fostering the imagination. The audience participation throughout the show is lively and varied and can be very funny. The performers don’t miss a beat handling the individual and group callings out from children in the audience – one of the pleasures of live theatre.
Ashlea Pyke (also Assistant Director) and Aubrey Flood, the two female leads, work seamlessly together. Their energy fills the space and their singing skills are undeniable, with many lovely vocal harmonies. Phillip McInnes’ support is impressive, wearing multiple ‘hats’ as digital puppeteer, puppeteer, actor and musician. A highlight is Nate Gilkes’ beautiful music. His compositions create powerful moods on stage. Skilled on the keyboard and violin, he works in the background but deservedly takes the stage when appropriate. The two children (6 and 7 years of age) that accompanied me to the show particularly loved the underwater jellyfish sequence, where Gilkes’ spellbinding music and lighting by Benjamin Van Dillen gave us a wondrous experience.
Rather than a straight promotion for Alison Lester’s book – though you can purchase her book at the theatre – her book is clearly the catalyst for a beautiful exploration of imagination and the natural world, including the Australian landscape. It is also an exploration of that central defining environment – ‘home’. This show is well worth the money for children and adults alike – treat yourself and the children in your life
