Multi-award-winning children’s theatre company Patch Theatre will present the world premiere of Superluminal – an interactive installation for families – at the South Australian Museum as part of 2024 Illuminate Adelaide.
A theatrical installation full of Patch’s renowned interactive light play, Superluminal investigates nature’s extraordinary creatures, ecosystems and beauty, and how time shapes them. The engaging installation for 4–8 year olds and their families combines bold visual design with collaborative storytelling and interactive play.
Geoff Cobham, Artistic Director of Patch Theatre said: “Installations are a fantastic way for young children to engage with art and to follow their own impulses within a creative space. We love making theatre for 4–8 year olds but what they really want is to play – to be on stage with us and be part of the action – and Superluminal allows them to do this.”
Upon entering Superluminal, children collect colour-changing lanterns that enable them to explore and engage with the artwork. They are guided by a performer through five interactive spaces, following animal tracks and discovering animals from the past, present, and possible future, before creating their own mythical creatures and bringing them to life.
Superluminal is made by an exceptionally talented team of South Australian creatives, led by one of Australia’s most experienced lighting designers – Patch Artistic Director Geoff Cobham. Co-Director Geoff Cobham and Co-Director/Composer Zoë Barry (Telstra ARIA Music Teacher of the Year 2021) are joined by makers Michelle ‘Maddog’ Delaney, Alex Hatchard, Jimmy Dodd, Wendy Todd and Bianka Kennedy, and animator Luku, who have all spent time connecting with the Museum’s resident scientists in making the new production
Geoff Cobham shared: “We’ve really hit the jackpot with this team. We all have the same understanding of art and decades of experience creating brilliant work for young audiences.”
Co-Director and Composer Zoë Barry has created a unique soundscape for the experience, featuring immersive recordings of nature from around the world. The audience will experience an Australian dawn chorus, the sounds of night-time in the jungle, and kooky music composed from unique audio sources. This music includes recordings of frogs, bird calls, animals snoring, and children imagining the sounds of both real and imaginary animals.
Co-Director and Composer Zoë Barry said: “We really hope that when children leave this experience and go back into the world, they’ll have a more magical and connected sense of their place within nature and within the whole universe.”
Superluminal gives children the opportunity to explore light and nature in a captivating, hands-on experience within Adelaide’s iconic Museum. Superluminal opens at the South Australian Museum on Saturday 6 July and runs until Saturday 10 August. Tickets are available at www.illuminateadelaide.com
PERFOMANCE DATES:
General Public performances
South Australian Museum – 6 July – 10 August 2024
https://www.illuminateadelaide.com/program/season-2024/superluminal
School Shows
South Australian Museum – 1 July – 9 August 2024
https://www.patchtheatre.org.au/superluminal
