Bluey’s Big Play a theatrical event for the whole family

The cartoon blue heelers have become puppets and are a hit with young audiences.

Bluey's Big Play charms young audiences. Picture: Darren Thomas.

“Bin chicken!” The kids in the seats behind me can’t contain their delight. Ibis puppets, expertly manoeuvred by actors, plod across the stage. Following them is a flock of rainbow lorikeets soaring against a pastel-coloured sky. So far, so Brisbane.

Bluey, the animated children’s series that has conquered the small screen and the toy aisle, is ready for its main-stage debut. Bluey’s creator, Joe Brumm, and composer Joff Bush, have collaborated with Windmill Theatre Co and producing partners to bring the beloved blue heeler, her little sister, Bingo, and their parents into the real world. (A national tour was due to commence in May, before COVID-19 got in the way.)

The first challenge of such an adaptation is the duration: 45 minutes live, compared with seven minutes per TV episode (perfect for digesting before school, or bed). The voices of the main characters are distinctive, and key to the show’s popularity. The actors have pre-recorded the dialogue, and puppeteers use their bodies to make Australia’s most famous canine family appear to dance, debate and play before our eyes. A few tiny timing issues aside, they succeed.

Puppeteers bring the Bluey characters to life on stage. Picture: Darren Thomas.

Bluey hits the spot because it reflects the lives of those watching it — fart jokes included. Each episode carries a single, important message, often wrapped up in a heartwarming reveal towards the end. What is the set-up here? Bingo is at an age where she copies everything she sees, and Bluey is tasked with being a good (and gracious) big sister. Meanwhile, the girls’ father is challenged to put his damn phone away and spend time with the kids instead. But it is Chilli, the mother of the family, who gives the play emotional heft with her own surprising storyline of sisterly affection.

Parents around me were beaming at show’s end, but what did the target audience think? A friend had brought along her family as a last-minute Christmas treat. Peggy, 9, expressed her enthusiasm for the adaptation succinctly. “It felt alive!” she said. Monty, 11, was impressed with Jonathon Oxlade’s design, which takes the dreamy, pop-up book colours and shapes from the series and expands them into three dimensions. Six-year-old Gilbert, meanwhile, declared he could happily watch 45 minutes of Bluey on stage every day.

Bluey’s Big Play may be her first theatrical experiment, but I doubt it’ll be the last.

Tickets: $39-49. Bookings: online. Duration: 45min, no interval. Until January 10, 2021, before a national tour.