Acknowledgment of country

Polyglot acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live and create, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present. For more than 65,000 years, children and families have created and played here, and we are grateful to make our art on this country too.

13 May 2026 E-News

May E-News

Whirlwind production photo: Laura May Grogan. A child in a red jumper smiles as colourful confetti swirls around them. An adult is in the background, eclipsed by the flying confetti. There is a Polyglot artist to the left of the image.

Spark Child’s Play

At Polyglot, we are committed to the theatrical possibilities that spark child’s play. Our work gives children the agency to be in control, to communicate their ideas and imagination, and experience joy and connection.

Spark Play! is a FREE, at-home event to do in your own time. Join us and share your spark.

Whirlwind production photo: Laura May Grogan. A child jumps into the air, reaching for swirling colourful paper confetti. Other adults and children reach, jump and move around them.
Paper Planet production photo: Ai Ueda. A child in a stripy black and white t-shirt smiles at the camera. They have tape in their hand and are holding their hair up. The child behind them wears a green paper bandana and is in the process of tying green paper onto the other child.

L: Whirlwind. Laura May Grogan. R: Over the Sea. Ai Ueda.

Polyglot is globally recognised for our immersive, child-centred experiences that explode expectations of what theatre can be. Children are the why, the how and the who – we co-create and collaborate with children to make work that is valuable to them not just in the moment, but long into the future. Recently, Generator artist Meg Taranto shared a reflection about our April school holiday season of Art Tree at Brighton Town Hall:

“I watched young people move through the full gamut of what is possible in poetic space. From not knowing to wondering, fledgling to flight, drawing to making. Moving from what they thought was expected of them to what they have never done but can intuit. Body memory. Born from a kind of silence, the magic of being in flow state beside a young person.”

Read more: polyglot.org.au/art-tree-reflection-2026

The magic is set to continue. This weekend, Forest premieres at Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne. Next month, Paper Planet will open the prestigious Theatre der Welt Chemnitz in Germany. Locally, the tall cardboard trees of Paper Planet will unfurl and grow in Wyndham, alongside Sound of Drawing, for the July school holidays.

Forest world premiere: this weekend only

Join us for the world premiere season of Forest, our brand-new immersive performance for children and families, set among the living landscape of Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne.

This is a theatrical artwork for now; a balm for the urgent task of environmental care and stewardship.

One weekend only: 16-17 May. Bookings essential.

Forest production photo: Laura May Grogan. A child in a blue t-shirt sits across an adult in a green blouse. They inspect a handheld round mirror together. There are children and families in the background.
Forest workshop photo: Sarah Walker. A child holds a round mirror and gazes up to the sky. A Polyglot artist stands beside them, also holding a mirror to the sky.

Forest. L: Laura May Grogan. R: Sarah Walker.

Voice of the Child

Across a multi-year project with the Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) – a department of The Royal Children’s Hospital and a research group of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute – we are exploring new ways to support children 3-12 years, particularly those under 8, to share their voices through creativity and play.

Polyglot artists and the CCCH researchers are working together to engage with children in community healthcare settings and early childhood education centres (ECEC), using Voice Lab, as well as making with paper, tape and drawing. The findings are being used to refine the CCCH Voice of the Child toolkit – a free, evidence-based resource designed for researchers, service providers, clinicians and others keen to include children and embed their voices in meaningful, ethical ways.

Polyglot Theatre and Centre for Community Child Health personnel pose for the camera, wearing or holding handmade paper creations.
Voice Lab production photo: Pete Wallis. A child in a stripy jumper looks up above. They are wearing intricate white embellished headphones and are seated cross-legged in the Voice Lab space. There is a soft blue lighting wash.

L: Cat Sewell. Polyglot Theatre and Centre for Community Child Health. R: Voice Lab. Pete Wallis.

As part of our 2025 activity in community healthcare settings, Voice Lab spoke to children about visiting new places, sharing their feelings, and being heard by their adults. This is what they told us:

Learn more: polyglot.org.au/arts-health-2026

“I can believe in myself and do new things and try my best”

2025 was exciting. Bookended by premiere seasons, our engagement with children, families and communities hit a nine-year high. With more than 35 presenting and collaborating partners, we reached 43,924 people and 90% of our audience accessed our work for free.

“I feel inspired and like my imagination has took me off to a new world… Because it’s just so magical and inspiring and it makes me feel like I can believe in myself and do new things and try my best. So that’s what I feel when I do theatre.” Child, on the importance of theatre

We are proud to share our 2025 Annual Report, a joyous collection of adventures and voices that made up our year.

Support us in 2026

This end-of-financial-year (EOFY), support Polyglot Theatre and spark child’s play with a tax-deductible donation. Playmakers give $2-$249; Polyglot’s Circle give $250+.

Your generosity empowers all children: artistically, culturally, socially.

Give now: polyglot.org.au/support-us/donate

Whirlwind production photo: Laura May Grogan. A child in a red jumper smiles as colourful confetti swirls around them. An adult is in the background, eclipsed by the flying confetti.
Paper Planet production photo: A group of children hold hands with each other and a Polyglot artist in a circle formation. There is another artist in the background playing the flute, There are children in the background against the set of tall cardboard trees and tissue paper vines.

.L: Whirlwind. Laura May Grogan. R: Over the Sea. Ai Ueda.

Thank You

The premiere season of Forest by Polyglot Theatre is presented and supported by Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, with further support from the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation and the Robert Salzer Foundation. The development was supported by Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and ArtPlay City of Melbourne.

Logos: Polyglot Theatre, with tagline, 'theatre is child's play'; Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne; Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation; The Robert Salzer Foundation; ArtPlay City of Melbourne.

Polyglot Theatre’s project, Creative Kids Thrive! is supported by VicHealth through the Growing Healthy Communities grant. This includes Polyglot’s participation in research at community healthcare settings, conducted in partnership with CCCH.

Logo: VicHealth

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