Sunday Arts Magazine

28 Mar 2021

Boats at the National Gallery of Victoria

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Boats at the National Gallery of Victoria

Families can set sail on urban seascapes, go to war with fiendish grannies, get their rock on, enjoy a circus spectacular at The Spiegeltent and even do a spot of shopping during a fun-filled April school holidays at Arts Centre Melbourne.

“We are excited to finally be able to welcome children and families back to Arts Centre Melbourne. Throughout the pandemic, families have had to be incredibly resilient and manage a lot personally so it feels like a gift to finally give them the opportunity to reconnect with live performance and for children to be transported to a magical place through theatre. We are also really proud to be profiling Victorian performers and new works made specifically with COVID-19 safety regulations in place,” said Mary Harvey, Arts Centre Melbourne Creative Producer, Families and Children.

Internationally renowned, Melbourne based company Polyglot Theatre presents Boats – a rollicking voyage for children 3 to 10 years of age and their families to navigate an urban seascape in a colourful vessel.

In this free event, large lightweight boats are moored on Art Centre Melbourne’s main lawn waiting for children’s imagination and energy to take them out on an adventure. Once aboard, the boats are propelled by a flurry of feet, with children working as a crew to find their own path and voyage across the high seas. As they journey, Polyglot artists float as castaways to be rescued or as mysterious elements of the urban ocean. Together they guide the boats to safe harbour ready for a new crew, and the next adventure.

“Boats was inspired by the stories of children who have experienced journeys across the sea, as refugees from life-threatening situations, and plays with the idea of arrival at a strange land. This work is a joyous response to how children unerringly find the play in their surroundings, and can lead us all to new perspectives. Children are often forgotten in the huge events of the world and Boats places them firmly and with happy disruption, in urban spaces, to find their own imaginative adventures in the everyday,” said Sue Giles AM, Artistic Director and co-CEO, Polyglot Theatre.