THE MAN THE SEA SAW
Wolfe Bowart brings out the thinker in kids and the kid in adults at this Sydney Children’s Festival show.

Time Out Sydney, Words by Jovana Gladanac

Wolfe Bowart’s The Man the Sea Saw teaches kids about a complex global issue in a simple way: through a whimsical show with a captivating storyline. “We don’t talk explicitly about what we mean to get across,” explains physical theatre artist Bowart. “But kids can go home and talk about it for days, about why it’s happening, and how they can prevent it.”

What Bowart does mean to get across is the significance of global warming. It’s an issue that children generally aren’t too familiar with, and, realistically, sitting them down in front of an Al Gore film probably isn’t the best way to go about teaching them.

Instead Bowart (who has more than a little of the Charlie Chaplins about him) has crafted a 75-minute show about a man that gets lost at sea and sets up a new home on an iceberg and makes friends with some of the creatures that dwell on the ice. But there’s a big problem: the iceberg that has become his home is melting. And so is his new best friend the Snowman. “It’s potentially quite a heavy subject,” admits Bowart. “But kids get it and there are some deeper moments in the show that they really appreciate.”

Aside from being a great learning experience, The Man the Sea Saw is pure fun for kids and their parents. Throughout the performance, Bowart mimes, juggles, performs acrobatics, manipulates puppets and plays the xylophone. “There’s a very surreal feeling to this show,” he explains. “It’s funny, sad, wacky, fast-paced and full of life (as well as polar bears and octopuses).”

Bowart maintains that between the acrobatics and puppetry, there’s a story that is really speaking to the kids of today, and really challenging them. “I think that kids are a lot smarter than we often give them credit for. There are a lot of shows out there, on television and in theatre as well, that talk down to kids or assume that they need to have everything spelled out,” says Bowart. “All of our shows leave room for interpretation, and we see from kids afterwards that they really get the story.”

DATES & TIMES
Tues 27 Sept - Sat 1 Oct, 10.00am & 2.00pm (excluding Sunday)

VENUE
Everest Theatre, Seymour Centre

DURATION
75 mins (no interval)

AGES
4 - 104

TICKETS
$20 + bf
School groups $16 each (teachers are free)

SUPERVISION
Children attending performances must be accompanied by an adult at all times

BABES IN ARMS
Children under two are free if they sit on a paying adult’s lap

(Source: au.timeout.com)