Fringe Festival

Up the stairs of the multi-story landmark Clocktower building in Moonee Ponds, I come upon a theatre studio lit up in bright primary colours, complete with a giant matted floor, and two rows of seats at the back. With prams parked downstairs in the entrance hall, hoards of parents gladly seat themselves criss-crossed in these roomy surroundings, with their babies and toddlers in tow, eagerly awaiting ‘Coach Mon’s Baby Wonderland’, a musical adventure for infant and tots, to begin.

Among the ohhhs and ahhhs, I am enamoured by a set decorated in pure Australiana. Encompassing a journey over land and sea, a tree is bedecked in thick foliage, representing the Australian bush. An underwater vista set piece is sitting upright, representing the Great Barrier Reef. And finally, a mountain-shaped cutout is brimming with sparkly perfection, representing the Snowy Mountains. A resounding set design, simple yet effective; not unlike ABC’s Playschool, or the imaginary magical kingdom set in Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood.

The show begins naturally, gaining the children’s attention with singer and musician Jackson Peele kneeling on the floor with a guitar in hand, dressed in a tracksuit in purple, green and blue hues. Beside him is the show’s star and co-creator, Coach Mon, played by Monique Warren, similarly dressed in a sports hat and uniform wearing green, red and purple. Together, they begin the show in an intuitive fashion, milling around and interacting with the mums, caregivers and toddlers as everyone is still walking in. Feeling as if we will be playing an active role in this upcoming adventure.

Once the door closes, Coach Mon and Jackson start singing a welcome song, pleasantly and gently, warming up the audience and harmonising well. They teach the children to wiggle their fingers and touch their toes. Coach Mon has a beautiful light and poppy voice, drawing the toddlers in with her animated facial expressions and fun, sharp choreography.

The story begins as Coach Mon and Jackson talk about the galaxy, and the stars that light up the night sky. ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ begins, and everyone joins in. Suddenly, a shooting star crash lands on the stage. They pick it up and a rendition of ‘Little Star’ is then sung, asking where she’s come from, and if she is lost. With a tinkling noise, we discover the star’s name is Stella, and in her fall, she has lost three missing pieces. Coach Mon decides to help Stella find them, so she can fly back out and shine once again in the universal skies.

So ‘off on an adventure’ we go, by singing ‘Walking in the bush’ to find her missing pieces. Where lovely bird sounds are heard, along with ‘Leaves blowing in the wind’, as Coach Mon grabs some bushes off the tree and bounds through the pathways of children – to rustle the bushes on the ground as she walks around.

Creating an exciting sensory experience, the children look up enthralled, as the Old MacDonald nursery rhyme begins to play, with the words updated to reflect the animals seen in the Australian bush: like Kangaroos, Wombats and Koalas. As ‘Ei-ei-oh’ is sung out, a little girl starts hopping up and down out front, as a toddler claps her little hands. As Coach Mon mimics each animal, the children are having an absolute ball. It is so heartwarming to see.

Suddenly? Behind the bush tree – they find a piece of the star. As they shake it, a sound tinkles. They put it back on Stella. But two more pieces are still missing.

And so we venture underwater, with Coach Mon cleverly adding swimming lesson movements. Suddenly, a large sheet of lightweight blue fabric is held by both Coach Mon and Jackson, who manage to float it above the children all around the room, as if the children are sitting under the waves of the ocean. Singing a classic underwater song, we are in the ‘Great Barrier Reef’. But that’s not all. For a surprise ensues, enlightening our morning audience with a huge sparkly jellyfish, who floats ever so gently around the room to an amazing effect. Then lastly? A fish is held blowing bubbles out, to great delight, encouraging the tots to pop the bubbles with their hands for further sensory joy, all under the guise of blue oceanic lights.

After another piece is found? We head up on a steep walk, to the Snowy Mountains, delightfully displayed by Coach Mon and Jackson, who pretend to climb up either side of the mountain cutout, two-by-two, with their fingers.

Suddenly, the temperature drops, and Coach Mon throws out netted white cloths to be used as snowflakes, encouraging parents and kids to wave these cloths up and down. Icy winds are blowing as they sing ‘I’m a little snowflake’ – asking toddlers to touch their face, nose and toes with the freezing snowflake. Then to count to 3, and ‘throw your snowflake back to me‘.

To the children and parent’s delight, the final piece is found, a child yells out, ‘great job’ – and the whole audience laughs uproariously.

As we wave goodbye, Stella is sent back up to the sky. A sweet and heartwarming finale to a great Australian adventure. Ending with a beautiful line, ‘Our friend Stella is now shining down on us.’

All in all, I would highly recommend any parent to bring their child along and be bedazzled by this sweet and delightful show. Hats-off to director and co-creator Laura Aldous for making this children’s production polished and professional, as it contained all the enchanting elements of toddlerdom combined. The children all bopped and danced in dreamy landscapes with smooth transitions, a classic warm up and goodbye song; sensory surprises; kids encouraged to sing and dance, and movement coached clearly throughout. What was especially lovely was the music and singing being so natural and gentle, with an acoustic guitar and no backing tracks. I also loved the Australian landmarks, animals, bush songs and references used across the show, making this production unique for parents, carers and children of all ages.

To book tickets to Coach Mon’s Baby Wonderland, please visit https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/whats-on/events/coach-mons-baby-wonderland.

Photographer: James Rush

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