When thinking of classic Australian Children’s Literature, four books come straight to my mind: Blinky Bill, the Magic Pudding, Ginger Megs and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. Our little family never do anything by halves, so for the last eight months or so we have been on a little adventure, not only introducing the kids to the books BUT also introducing them to the lives of the authors. What a treat.
Last October we kicked off this adventure into Australian Children’s Literature with a trip to May Gibbs’ Nutcote Cottage in Neutral Bay. We learned all about May Gibbs life and her development of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. The kids loved it and May became a permanent fixture on my female heroines list for her work with the suffragette movement and her ongoing failure to conform to societies construct of the ‘wife’.
When I heard that a contemporary adaptation of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie was debuting at the Sydney Opera House in the June/July school holidays I knew we had to attend. We organised to attend over its opening weekend so all four of us could enjoy the play.
On entering the auditorium and finding our seats, we looked across the theatre and instantly did a double take. The gum leaves that made up the scenery on stage, whilst humongous, was so realistic you could almost smell the eucalyptus. It is so well done. Hats off to the production crew. Throughout the show I kept looking at the props and costumes, wondering how on earth they made them. The gumleaf blankets, the snake tail, the gumnut hats. Incredible.
But what about the show? Master R is 8 and Miss N is 6. Both were on the edge of their seat throughout the show. They found Snugglepot and Cuddlepie delightful and continued talking about Mr Lizard who was, by far, their favourite character on the drive home. They loved hearing May Gibbs’ voice too, which we had also listened to at Nutcote Cottage. I was a little perplexed that many of the adults in the audience found the reference to “Bottom” in A Midsummer Night’s Dream extremely hilarious, however it did lead me to draw comparisons between this production and some of the Shakespearian plays I’ve seen. I adore that the Sydney Opera House is introducing children to real theatre in such a fun way.
Snugglepot and Cuddlepie has now closed!
Thanks to the Sydney Opera House for the provision of our tickets. Please note that we were under no obligation to write about our experience. Of course, we couldn’t help it – the show was fantastic!