Teri Mortimer’s Petit Book Corner is one of our favorite early literacy resources online and on Instagram, so I couldn’t think of anyone better to review the new production of Possum Magic, based on the classic children’s book. Here’s what she and her family thought of the show, currently at the Sydney Opera House.
The magical world of story telling was in full swing at Monkey Baa Theatre’s production of Possum Magic (now playing at the Sydney Opera House through 28 April) based on the classic Australian picture book by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas.
You couldn’t meet a bigger Mem Fox fan than me so when Cristin from Artsplorers asked me to attend the live show, I was beyond excited, to say the least! A spell was cast on us from the moment we arrived, as we were greeted with magic tricks performed by one of the cast members. Stars appeared out of nowhere, a good sign for things to come!
Upon entering the Playhouse we were entranced by the amazing set design superbly representing the natural beauty of Australian landscape. The show captured the story wonderfully, starting with a bang in the scene where Hush is made invisible, turning her brown possum costume into a glistening invisible cloak. Lights, music and the large projection at the centre of the stage were cleverly used to make this moment memorable. Although this moment was exciting for most of the audience it could be a tad scary for super young viewers, as it was rather dark with flashing lights and a slightly louder soundtrack.
Clever magic tricks were used throughout to enhance the story and it was super fun for audience members to kick things off with Grandma Poss magically turning the pages of her large Magic Book hands free. One of my favourite moments was when Grandma Poss recited Mem’s lyrical words as she was searching through her large book of spells. I couldn’t help but join in and chant along saying the line: “There was magic for thin and magic for fat, and magic for tall and magic for small, but the magic she was looking for wasn’t there at all.”
However, just like in the book, despite their initial disappointment of not finding the right spell, Grandma Poss and Hush didn’t give up hope, the true sign of a great quality children’s story!
Although it would have been a challenge to make a 50 minute play based on this simple story, the creators did a commendable job taking the audience members around Australia with Hush and Grandma Poss on their hunt to find the perfect human food to make Poss visible again, all with a slight homage to the 80’s era in which the book was written. Hush had a wonderful energy throughout her quest, and did a great job embodying characteristics of a possum. It’s always fun to see how actors portray a much-loved character from a book!
We had some good chuckles in the show with the two support actors lending comic relief throughout. It was wonderful to see this fun and light-hearted story back in a new form live on stage!
We attended Possum Magic as guests of the Sydney Opera House.
Monkey Baa Theatre’s production of Possum Magic runs through 28 April at the Sydney Opera House, then continues on a tour of Australia (dates here). Tickets for the Sydney Opera House production begin at $29 plus booking fee.
For more school family arts events around Sydney, check the Artsplorers Calendar of Events!
Teri Mortimer is a primary school teacher living and working in Sydney. Through her blog Petit Book Corner and Instagram account @petitbookconer she supports parents to help their children develop strong early literacy foundations and to inspire a love of reading through meaningful interactions with quality texts.