Winning fans of all ages
By Zachariah (Age 9)
“The story was about a boy named Peter who wanted to discover the meadow and on his time when he was exploring he came across a wolf and he ran away and the wolf was really good at break-dancing.
My favourite character was the person who played the piano because his hair was really crazy and cool. The dancing made me feel energetic.
I liked it because it was really funny and… I can’t explain it, but I just love it. Awesome, awesome, awesome.”
By Tania Herbert (Aged more than 9)
Brought to Melbourne by Ireland’s CoicCéim Dane Theatre, The Wolf and Peter by David Bolger is a contemporary re-imagining of the classic Prokofiev children’s symphony, Peter and the Wolf. Set in a stylised forest, it’s a surrealist journey into Peter’s little world with lots of modern twists to tell the story in a meaningful way for today’s modern tech kids.
As Peter (played by a woman – Ivonne Kalter – in classic pantomime style) journeys into the forest, he comes face to face with his own fears and fantasies, played out through contemporary dance, from jazz to breakdance.
The music is lead by an onstage piano – which itself plays a central character, with jokes from both pianist (composer Conor Linehan) and piano bringing a lovely integration between the dancers and the music. The stylised animal characters (Lance Coburn, Jonathan Mitchell, Emma O’Kane, Mateusz Szckerek and Matthew Williamson) make sure kids were able to give their imaginations a great workout, and the shift from animals being represented by musical instruments to the animals being defined by their dance style was a clever catch.
While the show is touted as being for 6+, the audience had kids from toddlers to tweens, and the simplicity of the physical comedy yet the complexity of the dancing meant there was something to please all ages – adults included.
Kids in the audience were spellbound, even through the later parts of the show which was largely emotive contemporary dancing as Peter wrestled with the consequences of his actions and his feelings of conflict about the well-being of the wolf (Szckerek).
The Wolf and Peter is a great piece of kids’ entertainment, but also held a lovely and humanising message that we all value the same things – fun, family and freedom.
By Livi (Age 5)
“I went to the theatre and I saw The Wolf and Peter.
My favourite was Peter because he was hiding from the wolf. They did handstands and cartwheels (which I can do) and I loved the head stands.”
CoisCéim Dance Theatre’s The Wolf and Peter was performed on 1 & 2 July at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Theatre Press 