Kids’ theatre returns to the Capital

A BEAUTIFULLY produced new children’s theatre production featuring magic, puppetry and circus tricks, plus a subtle message about consumerism, will make its Bendigo debut at the Capital Theatre in July.

The Bottle Collector, produced and performed by award-winning Clunes physical theatre company Asking for Trouble, is inspired by children and their collections, “their delight in arranging coins or buttons, capturing small creatures and gathering pockets full of shells”.

One half of the show’s creators, Christy Flaws, is practically bursting at the seams to be able to finally bring it to Bendigo and perform in front of a live audience.

“I’ve been speaking to lots of artists and audience members recently, who have really missed that something really particular about a shared experience,” she said.

“There’s been a bunch of research done into what happens when we [performers and audiences] are present in a room together – there’s something about that, the unexpected nature of it.”

She said the genesis of The Bottle Collector came from “things that we’ve experienced in our own childhoods” and the desire to “encourage play after the performances”.

“I feel like our take on making theatre for families is to respond to something that often parents have seen in their own kids,” Flaws said.

“So with all of our shows, we just hope that kids go away, and parents go away, and that they play together.”

“We’ve had so much support in the past from regional audiences. And so I guess the other thing for us is, hopefully, we’ll see some familiar faces.”

Catch the show at 2pm on Friday 2 July at the Capital Theatre in View Street.