The school holidays will - quite literally - be in full swing this week as a new circus-style show rolls into town fresh from the Sydney Opera House.
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I Wish..., a high-flying production of "light and acrobatics" from some of the country's biggest children's theatre companies, arrives at the local institution at 6pm tonight.
Created by the internationally renowned Patch Theatre company alongside South Australian troupe Gravity and Other Myths, the collaborative work was built on a simple foundation: how different everyone is and how beautiful that is.
"As adults, we change who we are all the time depending on who we're interacting with," said Geoff Cobham, the show's co-director and Patch Theatre's artistic director.
"Everyone we meet we have to be a different person, but for kids, that's a really difficult thing to grasp, and so making this show was about addressing that and also addressing emotion.
"I Wish is all about telling kids that, if you're different one minute, if you're feeling a different emotion, that's okay: you're still you.
"You can be anything and sometimes you can be angry and sometimes you can be difficult and sometimes you can be fabulous. And that is just the human condition."
The new show is part of Theatre North's Play Dates, a program where families can explore low-cost, high-impact theatre experiences during each school holiday.
"I Wish.. is the perfect school holiday adventure for families, the young at heart, and kids of all ages," said Stuart Loone, Theatre North's programs director.
Framed by a world of colour, the highly interactive I Wish follows its performers as they encounter their own emotional crises which challenge their world views but, in the end, finds them stronger for it.
"It's very hard to talk to children about emotions; parents struggle with that," Mr Cobham said.
"But this show is very good at it and it's very good at starting amazing conversations with your children. And the parents usually end up enjoying the show even more than the kids!"
I Wish...- which is part of Theatre North's 2024 Season - arrives at the Princess Theatre on Wednesday, April 17, at 6pm, with a second matinee showing on April 18 at 11am. Tickets are available at the Theatre North website.