August E-News

Pram People rolls into the UK

The first half of 2024 has been busy. Our pink Polyglot suitcases have been packed and re-packed countless times, our passports are just as full… and now Pram People is rolling all the way to the UK! Free seasons are being presented by Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, Creative Barking and Dagenham, and Freedom Festival Hull. Director Emily Tomlins, and Sound Designer Lachlan MacLeod arrived earlier to facilitate a series of creative community workshops with local families in Barking, London and Hull, supported by FESTIVAL.ORG’s Global Streets. Together, we’ve been exploring the relationship between adult and baby, and gathering stories and anecdotes. These will be woven into the soundscape and shared as part of the performance. 

Following the first workshops, Emily wrote, “Lachlan and I are sitting in the Boathouse Studios, where Creative Barking and Dagenham is based, feeling the lovely summer breeze through the windows, and listening to the stories we have gathered. It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege to do what we do these past two days. We have met some glorious children and their families, and the parents have been so incredibly generous and open with us about their experiences, both wonderful and hard.”

Feature image: Pram People. Photo: Sarah Walker

What can we learn from each other’s art?

Polyglot is honoured to have a long-standing relationship with Japan. It began in 2011, and since 2015, we have worked in collaboration with local organisation NPO Acchi Cocchi to deliver creative play, arts and theatre programs for children, families and schools across Minami Sanriku and the Yokohama region. In June, the Australian Embassy in Japan shared an article about the ongoing relationship between our companies. Rainbow Sweeny, Polyglot Producer, and Mikako Atsuchi, Acchi Cocchi President, discussed the importance of collaboration and cultural exchange.

We thank the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australia-Japan Foundation, the Australian Government Office for the Arts, Creative Australia and Creative Victoria for generously supporting and championing our work in Japan.

L: Rainbow & Mikako. Photo courtesy of Australian Embassy in Japan, 2024. R: Polyglot & Acchi Cocchi artists, 2023.

Us. Here. Now.

Across our two-year Kids Collaboration with The Venny, Polyglot artists and The Venny playworkers facilitated creative play and making workshops for local children in Kensington public housing. Our 2024 July school holiday workshops culminated in a night of ‘absolutely glorious mayhem’, with art and performances by young people for their families, friends, and community. With a silent disco, a fire pit, and a visit from the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Nicholas Reece, the send-off for Us. Here. Now. was an epic affair.

L: Polyglot & The Venny artists, playworkers & staff with Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece. R: Us. Here. Now. Photo: Sarah Walker.

A little bit of chaos

Polyglot’s Generator artists gathered at Abbotsford Convent in early July for a Catalyst Day. These are paid professional development opportunities to share creative practice and play, and interrogate how and why we make our art. The morning was filled with song, experimentation and reflection, with musician Julieeah facilitating solo and collective vocal and singing exercises, exploring the voice as an instrument. In the afternoon, the artists were joined by PIPS (Polyglot Inspiring People Society), our consultation group of children and young people. Together they delved into some new ideas and concepts – “and a little bit of chaos.”

Catalyst Day. L: Emily Tomlins. R: Cat Sewell.

International Day of Play

“I love when play draws out qualities or aptitudes in children that they did not expect or yet know in themselves.” 

International Day of Play was celebrated for the very first time on Tuesday 11 June. Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in March, it preserves, promotes, and prioritises the significance of play. Polyglot marked the occasion by sharing something special from two long-standing Generator artists: Reflections on Play, written by Tirese Ballard, and a new illustration by Nick Barlow.

Thank you

Polyglot Theatre’s 2024 UK tour of Pram People is supported by the Victorian Government through the Creative Victoria International Engagement program. The original development of Pram People was supported by the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative, and the City of Melbourne through the Arts and Creative Investment Partnerships fund and ArtPlay.

Us. Here. Now. is supported by the City of Melbourne through the Arts and Creative Investment Partnership Fund.