Melbourne Fringe
Learning to appreciate the small things in life, nature, family, love and laughter has been a big part of adjusting to living in 2020. Mountain Goat Mountain provides the perfect opportunity to do this, in our own homes, in the form of a magical theatrical adventure.
If the idea of performing for others fills you with dread then never fear! This experience is only for you and your family or whoever you live with at home. Your personal performance isn’t recorded anywhere and you can add as little or as much as you choose to engage with. If you are born to star in your own show then you can go wild! This is for you too and you can continue your creative discoveries through play, drawing, music and writing well after the performance has ended.
The clever and talented folk at The Threshold have thought of absolutely everything. When you enter the website they guide you gently through what you will need for the performance. Our family logged in using a tablet to give ease of movement around the house. We then gathered together and listened to our first instructions which were beautifully and clearly spoken by young voice actors Henrietta Mettler and Goldie Marine Palmer. The excitement of hearing young voices definitely added to the magic for our youngest audience member (aged 4). We went through all the fun activities in Act One to set up props, costumes and characters in preparation for the Act Two performance. Dressing up became a regular fun activity for our family during lock down and we had a lot of fun choosing costumes and finding silly things around the house.
After a short interval the performance begins. Without giving too much away it is a magical winter wonderland journey where you work together physically using your bodies, props and imagination to search for a mythical creature. And do we find this creature? (SPOILER ALERT) Yes, we do, in a magical theatrical way.
For most people this has been an especially tough year. In addition to the pressures of learning to survive through the pandemic, the theatres closed, the ghost lights came on and the government continued its systematic decimation of the Australian arts industry. I hope that The Threshold are supported by time and resources they deserve to continue to develop more immersive theatre works. Creative play is essential for wellbeing as well as literacy, numeracy and all the other benefits that come from young people engaging with the arts. Mountain Goat Mountain is the perfect way to allow children to access high quality performance , anywhere in the world, at an affordable price.
The Threshold have managed to capture the joy and wonder of theatre in our own homes. Our Mountain Goat Mountain journey ended with a magical message of love and the wonderful realisation that even when you are experiencing a new kind of theatre, you can still be moved to laugh until you cry. Enjoy the biggest little adventure you will go on this year!
Fiona Hallenan-Barker, Theatre Now
Watch the trailer:https://youtu.be/fbaRyh3xkRg
Buy a family pass (only $14.95!)https://www.thethreshold.com.au/mountaingoatmountain
