The Three Little Pigs

If pigs could fly and if elephants could pirouette. It’s only possible in a Disney animation, but live theatre creates a more visceral and satisfying experience for the audience.

The classic fable is brought to the stage by  AG Theatre in  their  first children’s musical theatre show. Producer Andrew Gyopar is thrilled to bring this tale to life in hope to inspire a love of theatre for young and old.

Director Tahra Cannon has a list of accolades in musical theatre and,  along with an exorbitantly talented  bunch of creatives, has delighted us with a  spectacular  rendition of The Three Little Pigs  that includes modern dance, tap and a bunch of catchy songs written by the brilliant musical duo George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.

We are all familiar with the much-loved story as it follows three pigs creating their own homes from different materials to live and to protect themselves from the menacing Big Bad Wolf. The European folkloric  origin of the tale dates to oral traditions, until Australian Writer Joseph Jacobs (1854 - 1916) included the story in his 1890  anthology of English Fairy Tales. His version carries  the popular catchphrases  when  Big Bad Wolf  says, ‘I will huff and l will puff and blow your house down’ and pigs crying out that they will not let Wolf in “no, no, not by the hairs of my chinny chin-chin’. Jacobs’ intentions where to immortalise these lines so as they  resonate and enrich  his world-wide audience.

The team at AG Theatre have also enchanted their audiences with a contemporary version of an old tale, introducing mother pig (Tayla Thomas), who wants  her three little piglets to move out and make their own homes. They resist, stomp and cry but they soon realise they  have no choice, marching off together into woods, with their bag of acorns from  Mother Pig ,who watches with enthusiasm having finally reclaimed  her space and freedom.

The  piglets are nervous yet excited as they argue about types of homes they are to build for themselves.  Bar (Ben Hamilton), the sporty jock, reckons sticks will do the job while Bee (Isabelle Davis) believes that straw is the best option for her eco-friendly mindset, and  Q (Zac Vasiliou, )the bookish nerd believes that bricks are the sturdiest and safest. They purchase their material from a Comedienne merchant (Jake Lonergan) who adds a fun quirky twist to this cherished tale.

Meanwhile the Wolf (Tristan Sicari), who gobbled up  their father, has been seen lurking around their neck of the woods. Sicari plays a joyful wolf  with a hint of Elvis in his solos. He is hilariously funny and not at all a bad wolf ( as we know him to be), but the story unfolds just like the original. Despite his silly  and lovable demeanour, this  wolf also  gets  very hungry, and  piglets are  top of the list on his menu.

The costumes (Karen Spenser) are clever and bright in design and  stand out against the muted, elaborate colourful sets(Abbey Stanway) and with two scene changes and clever use of the stage curtain at midpoint, the  performing piglets seamlessly  just keep rolling  on with the show. The choreographer (Louise Panagiotidis) has created  a wonderful medley of dance routines that work magic together with song and performance. Clever lighting design (Max Wood) reminiscent of a Broadway musical, along with sharp crafted sound design (Noah Chtapot) makes this show a complete package of memorable entertainment.

An excellent show from the team at AG Theatre. Look forward to more of their stunning musical theatre productions.

Flora Georgiou

Photographer: Nicole Cleary