Cautionary Tales For Children
Ellas List
Cautionary Tales for Children
21 April, 2016
By: Annie de Merindol
http://www.ellaslist.com.au/ellaslist-reviews-cautionary-tales-for-children/
No school holidays feels complete without a day trip to Circular Quay and a bask
under the iconic Sydney Opera House sails before catching a show.
This morning, I and my three junior explorers (aged 7 & 10yrs) had the good
fortune of landing inside the Studio to experience Cautionary Tales For
Children, on now until Sunday 24 April.
Based on the 1907 Hilaire Belloc comic verse, the always-entertaining Virginia
Gay had the young audience enraptured from the moment she took the stage,
and the adults all LOLing along with her throughout.
Cautionary Tales is a cheeky G-rated cabaret, leading children through a series
of stories about little girls and boys who dared to break the rules.
Meet Matilda The Liar, who called the fire brigade for no good reason and who
ended up a pile of smoking ashes the following evening having been left at home
alone as a punishment.
Or Jimmy, who broke free from his nurse’s clutch at the zoo and was promptly
ripped to shreds by a lion!
Cautionary Tales For Children
Or our collective favourite, the i-pad addicted ventriloquist dummy who never
bothered to learn to read and so mistook a sign on a fence reading ‘Caution:
Angry Bull” for an invitation, only to be gored and tossed ‘like a rag doll’ into a
bramble. “Like, what-e-va” she challenges her handler, and “You are, like, so
old!”
Gay’s vocal range is extraordinary, deeply engaging storyteller one moment,
operatic soprano the next. Accompanied only by a pianist and a handful of
creepy props, this show is guaranteed to beguile parents, carers, and their
young charges alike.
And contrary to the aim of the traditional cautionary tale, leaving children
fearful of challenging the status quo, Gay’s final message was just the
opposite. “No Risk. No Strife.” read the sign above the stage – lead a sheltered
life and you’ll avoid trouble, sure, but what a dull existence that would be!
Top tips
– Pre-book parking online – if you arrive before 10am and leave before 3pm –
with an hour’s grace either side! – you can park beneath the Opera House for
just $12.
– Arrive in time to participate in the free Creative Play experience in the foyer,
daily during school holidays
– Combine your visit with a wander through the MCA on the other side of
Circular Quay, a picnic in the Royal Botanic Gardens, a visit to the Museum of
Sydney, or all three.
Recommended for ages 7+.