Adelaide: where everyone’s in love and the flowers pick themselves

South Australians are again reminded of the vibrancy of the 1970s as another local Playhouse, Patch Theatre Company, turns 40 this year.

The company enjoys a celebrated reputation for 4-8 year olds and their families. Having presented over 100 productions to more than 1.6 million people over the course of its history. But the company is actively looking to the future with the recent announcement of plans to premiere a new production, The Moon’s A Balloon (based on the E. E. Cummings poem, not David Niven’s memoir), as part of the Come Out Festival (S.A.’s premier children’s arts festival, established in 1974) at the Odeon Theatre in its suburban home of Norwood from May 20 next year.

In keeping with the company’s own philosophy to “seek to provoke, tickle, prod and beguile children with performances that celebrate the experience of childhood” this production uses dance, colour, music, sound and words featuring 2 performers and a musician who go on a playful journey searching for meaning and friendship while also featuring, of course, balloons.

The Moon’s A Balloon has been developed over 3 years between the 2 performers Katrina Lazaroff and Rob Griffin, composer/musician Josh Bennett, designer Morag Cook, lighting designer Dave Gadsen along with Patch Theatre’s Artistic Director Dave Brown (in this instance supported by Roz Hervey).

Brown says of the show: “We live in a cluttered world of complexity, sophistication and gadgetry, yet the cardboard box or the simple balloon are still the most loved and utilised objects in children’s play. Children respond to quality theatre experiences with such immediacy and exuberance that you can’t doubt its power and impact”.

Brown is confident that both children and adults alike will enjoy the show as they are transported to a world where life is not so busy and demanding.

“I hope that this show reminds us all that the world can be anything we want it to be”, he said.

For further information log on to www.patchtheatrecompany.org or www.comeout.on.net