Spike the Echidna – Wickham

by Little Wing Puppets

Wickham Library - Multipurpose Room
Thursday 9 May, 10am to 10.45am

Free entry, booking required
Ages 3 to 10 years, adult accompaniment

Follow a baby echidna, through the world of shadow puppetry, on a journey to find out where he belongs.

Spike is the story of an echidna who is stolen from his nest by a greedy rat. He hatches from his egg far away from home. A young girl finds him. She is playing alone in the bush because she is being bullied by other children. He has no spikes yet and she doesn’t know what kind of creature he is. She tries to work out where he comes from, but accidentally puts him in dangerous situations – in the nest of a crocodile, an emu and a turtle. He feels frightened, rejected, alone. As the story unfolds, she helps him to discover where he belongs, and he helps her to find her own “spikes” and stand up to the bullies.

Told with shadow theatre, Spike is an interactive experience for the audience, with lively original music by Mal Webb. It is entertaining and fun, as well as a catalyst for a discussion about difference and belonging. It also about the unique biology of Australian animals, especially the egg-laying echidna. After the performance there is a demonstration of shadow puppetry techniques, introducing children to an expressive hands-on story-telling medium that is highly accessible to young people.

Ages 3 to 10 years, runtime 40 minutes

REVIEWS

“Best show ever!” Trevor, aged 6, Burnie Arts Centre, TAS

“Spike is a great show to introduce kids to live theatre and to engage them at an early age with a family show that provides an experience of participation, very different to watching TV. The kids and parents all loved it and we can’t wait for them to visit again”  Andrew Frith, Arts Margaret River

"It was a lovely and engaging play. Not only was the message important, but the performance was funny and inspirational as well. We wished we had a 'laugh-o-metre' to measure the amount of laughs it got. It made me wonder what positive things will do for a four or five year old down the track. Not just the message about bullying but being exposed to theatre at a young age. Hopefully the show inspired a few careers in the arts." ~David Marshall, Manager, Harvey Recreation and Cultural Centre, Western Australia, written on the Harvey Reporter, 12 March 2019