How a treasured childhood memory inspired this adventure about the search for a beetle
By Chris Hook
When Joshua Thomson was growing up, the appearance of the year’s first Christmas beetles was a cherished moment – a sign of good times to come.
Jana Castillo and Lloyd Allison-Young star in Beetle, by Legs on the Wall, at The Joan Penrith in Sydney.Credit: Janie Barrett
“I remember it stood as a symbol of Christmas, summer, water, heat, fun, family and friends. Now, even though my family are living all over Australia, we all still share if we see one,” the Legs on the Wall artistic director says.
But like so much of our natural world, the Christmas beetle is disappearing – the victim of climate change and a loss of habitat. So far the data is anecdotal as numbers are hard to pin down. The University of Sydney and Invertebrates Australia have partnered to recruit the public to do their own count to get a better idea of what is happening.
But as the Australian Museum has said, even anecdotally, the evidence for their decline is “compelling”.
Another scene from the show, which is about the search for the Christmas beetle.Credit: Janie Barrett
Thomson has spent a lifetime watching them – and he has also noticed their absence.
“Unfortunately, we’re seeing them less and less,” Thomson said.
The search for a Christmas beetle is at the heart of the Legs on the Wall show Beetle, co-created and directed by Thomson, in which a young girl and her new friend go hunting for the critter in her backyard.
Showing at The Joan Penrith on Saturday as part of National Science Week, Beetle follows Sally and her friend as they explore their backyard in a bid to find the beetle, with insects and other animals coming to life via stunning visual effects and giant puppetry.
Wiradjuri woman and award-winning artist Vicki van Hout narrates the piece, which also features animations of original artworks by children’s author and illustrator Freya Blackwood.
Aimed at children aged six to 14, the show celebrates the wonder of the natural world and reminds the audience of the delicate balance of the natural world and our responsibility to it.
Beetle is empowering and full of hope – and the audience will get seeds to take home and plant.Credit: Janie Barrett
The audience will also have the opportunity to enjoy the world of bugs through microscopes, with Penrith City Council’s Sustainability team in The Joan’s foyer before or after the show.
There’ll be a chance to meet the cast and everyone will be offered some seeds to take home and plant.
“Beetle is a story of hope; it reminds us of the importance of the smallest things; our responsibility to let it live on through different stories, every new summer,” Thomson said. “Beetle reminds all of us of the wonders of the natural world and that we should try to do all we can to hold on to that wonder.”
Beetle is showing at The Joan Penrith on Saturday at 11am. Details: thejoan.com.au
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