Festival First Night - Family Program

FOR THE FAMILY

Hyde Park will overflow with activities for families including characters from Erth's I, Bunyip, a gigantic elastic web - Tangle by Polyglot and music by Holly Throsby and Caspar Babypants - all hosted by comedy duo the List Operators.

HOLLY THROSBY PRESENTS SEE!

"Wow. Wow again. In fact, make that wow cubed. I love this album. Standby for effusive praise. Exceptional... addictive...beautifully giddy...spot-on for kids... superb." - BABYOLOGY

"Curious...spirited and sprightly...exuberant. It's rather tough to imagine an artist more suited to such an undertaking" - BEAT

A warm and bubbly dedication to the wide-eyed wonder of being little, Holly Throsby's wonderful songs take children on kaleidoscopic adventures of motorboats, diamonds, kookaburras and shadows, all peppered with inventive sound. Bringing her album See! to life, Throsby's gentle wisdom and harmonies are powered by drums, keyboard, mandolin, guitar and heehaw-style strings - blended with a live collage of kooky effects and surprise voices. With five acclaimed albums to her name, this is Throsby's first wild and wondrous musical journey written especially for children.

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CASPAR BABYPANTS

"Caspar Babypants is one of the few children's recording artists I can listen to without wanting to stab myself in the eyes." - WEIRD AL YANKOVIC

"Sweet simple and incredibly smart minimalistic music for your mini-me" - USA TODAY

Caspar Babypants is better known as Chris Ballew, the twice Grammy nominated songwriter and lead singer for the four times platinum rock'n'roll band The Presidents of the United States of America. Ballew's absurdist lyrics and catchy post grunge tunes made the Presidents one of the top selling bands of the 90's.

Stripping back the irony-laden lyrics of Dune Buggy, Lump, Kitty and Peaches, Ballew made a natural transition to songwriting for kids and has now released four completely infectious albums for his knee-high fans.

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TANGLE BY POLYGLOT

"The veteran children's troupe are masters of interactive play" - THE AGE

"This is children's play invisibly directed and unfolding. A great antidote for parents who despair over the demise of play without electronics." - THE AGE

Tangle is a huge, messy, fun, interactive elastic-weaving event created live by children and their families. It's part mass visual arts installation, part performance, part playground, part dance party and all chaos. Brought to you by Polyglot Theatre, purveyors of interactive and experiential children's entertainment, Tangle creates an environment where theatre truly is child's play.

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I, BUNYIP

Erth takes audiences deep inside the mysterious heart of Australian imaginings with excerpts from their recent theatrical triumph I, Bunyip. Children and adults are introduced to authentic stories and folklore which have been passed down in Indigenous communities for hundreds of years. Come and meet the characters and creatures that are still feared and revered in Aboriginal communities today.