Polyglot Theatre

Ants at Melbourne Museum begins next week! Presented as part of Antopia, join us for this summer school holiday season, 8-25 Jan (excl. 13-14 and 20 Jan). Free 10am performances outdoors on the Plaza. 11am, 1pm and 2pm performances indoors, included with Museum entry. An Auslan interpreter will be at the 10am and 11am performances, Sat 18 and Wed 22 Jan. For full event and access details, including a visual story to help your family prepare, visit https://lnkd.in/gmRWvDiP This season of Ants is supported by the City of Melbourne. #PolyglotTheatre #MelbourneMuseum Museums Victoria Photo: Theresa Harrison. Image description: An Ants production photo. Two Polyglot artists in intricate black Ant costumes carry giant crumbs through the Melbourne Museum Main Foyer.

Join us for a summer school holiday season of Ants at Melbourne Museum, supported by the City of Melbourne. With hundreds of giant breadcrumbs and three large, curious insects, children are irresistibly drawn closer to find out how they can join in. Ants is an enchanting, unusual experience that everyone can enjoy at their own pace. 8-25 Jan (excl. 13-14 and 20 Jan). Free 10am performances outdoors on the Plaza. 11am, 1pm and 2pm performances indoors, included with Museum entry. An Auslan interpreter will be at the 10am and 11am performances, Saturday 18 and Wednesday 22 January. For full event and access details, including a visual story to help your family prepare, visit https://lnkd.in/gmRWvDiP #PolyglotTheatre #MelbourneMuseum Museums Victoria Photo: Theresa Harrison. Image description: An Ants production photo. Three Polyglot artists in intricate black Ant costumes stand on the Melbourne Museum Plaza, next to several giant breadcrumbs.

Join us for a summer school holiday season of Ants at Melbourne Museum, supported by the City of Melbourne. This interactive performance brings children together to explore the landscape around them. Ants as big as humans work together intently, collecting and placing hundreds of giant breadcrumbs, and children are irresistibly drawn closer to find out how they can join in. 8-25 January (excluding 13-14 & 20 Jan). Begin each day with a free, outdoor 10am performance on the Plaza, with further performances inside, free with Museum entry. For full event and access details, including a visual story to help your family prepare, visit https://lnkd.in/gmRWvDiP #PolyglotTheatre #MelbourneMuseum Museums Victoria

Ahead of an exciting 2025, the Polyglot team is taking a summer break. Friday 20 December will be our last day for the year, and we return on Monday 6 January. Thank you to everyone who has been part of our extraordinary 2024 adventures: children, families, schools, collaborators, presenting partners, government and philanthropic funding champions, donors, and all our supporters. #PolyglotTheatre Photo: Katje Ford, Sydney Opera House. Image description: A Paper Planet production photo. A Polyglot artist in an intricate handmade paper costume lies on the ground, watched curiously by small children and their adults. They are in a theatrically lit space, surrounded by tall brown cardboard trees.

Welcome back to #MeetTheTeamMonday. We’re sharing all the Polyglot People who strengthen our company with their energy and expertise. Today, meet Matt Siddall, our Marketing and Access Coordinator. “I started working with Polyglot in 2021 to assist with the creation of our new, accessible website. This was a short-term position that I mostly carried out from home during COVID-19 lockdowns. I didn't meet any of my colleagues in person until two months after I started! I returned to Polyglot in 2023 and I have been enjoying every moment of my time here. A highlight of my role is archiving media from our productions (we have a LOT of photos as the company has been around for almost 50 years!) and seeing all the joy and excitement that children and families get from experiencing Polyglot magic. Another highlight is when I was brought to tears watching Pram People for the first time before it travelled to Hong Kong. I have learnt how to navigate the infinitude of children's creativity; young people cannot be confined into singular ways of creating. Sometimes they just want to play and create without any imposed limits. My work in accessibility and marketing has heavily complemented my studies in education - my time at Polyglot has almost been like a two-year continual professional development session, and I'm all the better for it. My background is in the visual arts working as a curator and in arts administration, so for me, Polyglot has been a great introduction to the world of immersive children's theatre. It's something I tell people that if I was a child I wish I could have experienced it!” #PolyglotTheatre #BehindTheScenes #MeetTheTeam Photo Description: An arch-shaped Sound of Drawing production photo on a light orange background surrounded by colourful shapes. Matt, wearing headphones and smiling, kneels at a table covered in paper, drawing with pastels. Large drawings hang on the wall in the background. Photo: Theresa Harrison.

This Saturday, you’ll find Ants by Polyglot Theatre at the Museums Victoria Antopia Opening Weekend! Free performances will take place on the Melbourne Museum Plaza, 10.30am and 11.30am. With hundreds of breadcrumbs scattered around and three large, curious insects on the scene, children are irresistibly drawn closer to find out how they can join in. Antopia Opening Weekend program and event info: https://lnkd.in/gsjtCT8s #MelbourneMuseum #MuseumsVictoria #PolyglotTheatre

Polyglot Theatre is honoured to be the recipient of the Betty Amsden Foundation triennial capacity funding, 2025-2027, and to be part of this exciting cohort!

“Polyglot productions and projects are sophisticated, rigorous and led by highly skilled performing artists. They are also based on simple principles of play that we hope inspires the children and families who participate to try new, creative ways of exploring their world.” Cat Sewell, Artistic Director & co-CEO, Polyglot Theatre. Our December e-news is out now - read and subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/g-TKqRXV #PolyglotTheatre Photo: Theresa Harrison. Image description: An Ants production photo. Three Polyglot artists in intricate black Ant costumes engage with a small child wearing paper antennae, who hands them a giant crumb. Other giant crumbs form patterns on the colourful carpet around them.

We are delighted that When the World Turns will be presented by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (NYC) in April 2025 as part of Big Umbrella Festival. When the World Turns is a collaboration between Polyglot Theatre (AUS) and Oily Cart (UK), originally commissioned by Arts Centre Melbourne for major arts and disability festival, Alter State 2022. The Lincoln Center season marks the North American premiere of this fantastical, immersive theatre experience, specifically created for and with children with complex disability; those who face the most barriers to access. More details coming soon! https://lnkd.in/guSNx9it We thank all the incredibly generous supporters who have, and continue to make, this large-scale production possible, and accessible to our audiences. For more information about When the World Turns, including collaborators and supporters, and all Polyglot funding champions, please visit our website. #PolyglotTheatre #OilyCart #ArtsCentreMelbourne #LincolnCenter #BigUmbrellaFestival #PolyglotOnTour Photo: Theresa Harrison. Image description: A When the World Turns production photo. A Polyglot artist in khaki stands in a theatrically lit space, surrounded by native grasses and plants.

Last Friday, Polyglot’s Kids Collaborations project, Totems, with Warren Central School and Warraan Widji Arts in NSW, culminated in an epic community performance and celebration. 90 students performed for a large audience of family, staff and community members, proudly sharing the stories, characters, costumes and puppets they had created: Giidjaa (ants), Guduu (Murray cod), fisherman, Maliyan (Wedgetail eagle), a snake, two Mayi, and of course many Dhigarrbilas (echidnas, the local totem). The performance was followed by morning tea, catered by the school canteen with support from secondary hospitality students. Totems is an interactive experience that is being developed to tour schools, particularly in regional and remote areas, sharing First Nations culture with students across Australia. The project is led by two Polyglot artists: First Nations writer Blayne Welsh, a Wailwan man, and designer and puppet-maker Tamara Rewse. We are grateful for the opportunity to bring Totems to Blayne’s Wailwan Country for the second year of its development and collaborate with the Warren Central School and Warraan Widji Arts communities. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g7Ytjk4k Totems is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, and the Malcolm Robertson Foundation. #PolyglotTheatre #WarraanWidjiArts #Warren Photos: Belinda Bell, Ombré Photography. Image descriptions: 3 x Totems production photos. 1. Students manoeuvre their Guduu (Murray cod) puppets, made from paper and bamboo, into the performance space in the school hall. Other students sit on the side, watching. 2. Two groups of students operate two large Dhigarrbila (echidna) puppets, made from paper, hessian and bamboo. Other students in paper costumes gather around them. 3. Students, artists Blayne and Tamara, and Polyglot Producer Julie, stand in the playground, smiling. The students hold up the large Maliyan (Wedgetail eagle) puppet, made from paper and bamboo.