“We are most interested in creating an experience of wonder,” he said. “It’s about being positive and imagining we can achieve anything.”

“We’re very pleased with the response so far. Most kids are familiar with concerts from The Wiggles, but it’s important to show them theatre can be many things, including music, storytelling and dancing.”

The spokeswoman said there were six events specifically for children in this year’s festival, including Dan Zanes, an old rocker now making his living creating “kiddie moshpits” and a play about lost toys called Fluff.

THEATRE producer Andy Packer wants to challenge his audience to think about some of the big questions of art and life: “What it is to be human … basic desire and need.”

But instead of aiming the questions at university students or drama devotees, he is targeting an entirely new generation of theatregoers — children aged eight and above.

The production of the children’s play The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy, which began its run at the Sydney Festival yesterday, is part of a new focus on productions for young people.

This is the first time the festival has incorporated a program of music and theatre targeted specifically at children.

The play’s plot is simple — Cheeseboy lives with his parents on a planet of cheese until one tragic night when his home is reduced to a bubbling fondue.

Cheeseboy struggles to survive the collapse of his planet and to cope on his own afterwards.

The production, by Adelaide company Slingsby, uses puppetry, light projections, models and oldfashioned story-telling to create a feeling of enchantment.

“What is exciting is the conversation on the way home in the car between the children and the parents, who have both had a really rich experience watching the play together,” Packer says.

“Audience development is part of it, but theatre is important for children for the same reasons art is important for all of us, to reflect on what it is to be human. It is a basic need and desire.

“Cheeseboy is a story about what it is like to be separated from your parents, in the way that we all go from being protected by our parents to being individuals in the world.”

Mr Packer said the aim was to fill children’s heads with life-expanding possibilities of their own imagination.

“We are most interested in creating an experience of wonder,” he said. “It’s about being positive and imagining we can achieve anything.”

After the festival, the production will embark on an international tour, including cities in Europe and the US.

A spokeswoman for the Sydney Festival said the focus on children’s productions this year, with plays and concerts continuing until the end of the month, was partly driven by the desire to reach out and create new audiences.

“The other side is to showcase the breadth of children’s theatre and music being created in Australia,” she said.

“We’re very pleased with the response so far. Most kids are familiar with concerts from The Wiggles, but it’s important to show them theatre can be many things, including music, storytelling and dancing.”

The spokeswoman said there were six events specifically for children in this year’s festival, including Dan Zanes, an old rocker now making his living creating “kiddie moshpits” and a play about lost toys called Fluff.

Credit: John Stapleton