Where is the Green Sheep?
Adaptor: Eva Di Cesare
Director: Eva Di Cesare
Coliseum Theatre, Rooty Hill.
17 July – 18 July, 2026
A funny, lively and whimsical adventure into the magic of puppetry and animation, Monkey Baa’s adaptation of much-loved children’s book Where is the Green Sheep? is a must-see for the young in the coming school holidays. An enchanting production, the quest for the missing sheep engages the hearts of its young audience with its quirky, lovable puppets and maintains their interest by clever use of animation.
Monkey Baa is very much aware of the need to engage children immediately. To this end, the performance begins with the puppeteers moving around the auditorium showing their charges to an eager audience. The sheep, designed by Kay Yasugi, are exceptionally endearing with black button eyes that seem astonishingly expressive and rapport is quickly established. Connection is reinforced immediately by the opening scene featuring a naughty, even scandalous Blue Sheep whose antics are greeted with bellows of laughter.
A further engaging element is the integration of children’s voices from Bankstown West Public School who narrate the story assisted by a trio of farmers who provide the context for the stage adaptation. Dressed appropriately in overalls, the farmers, also the skilful puppeteers (Paul Grabovac, Michael Ho and Catherine McNamara/Lucia May), perform a neat routine at intervals indicating their increasing desperation as the green sheep remains elusive.
Their search turns up many sheep, often paired and opposite like the thin sheep and the wide sheep, or connected like the moon sheep and the star sheep, presented either as imaginative and winsome animations or as cameo puppet performances. Most memorable of the cameos is perhaps the bed sheep whose amusing reluctance to go to sleep is the heart of the story.
While diverting as the puppet’s performance is, the fear of separation that prolongs the bedtime ritual is a reality for little children. While never at the forefront of the story, there is a deep comfort in the soothing return of the green sheep to the flock, sensitively conveyed in the closing scene.
The simple stage setting is perfect with a central arch, balanced on either side by green mounds, serving as the screen for Judith Horacek’s playful and imaginative visuals. Cheekily the mounds are turned around on occasions to dispel the likely belief that the green sheep will be found behind them, and adding to the mystery. The props work as they should, and there is no fluffing to destroy the charming world created by the Monkey Baa team.
There are some laughs for the grown-ups, as another memorable cameo reprises a scene from Singin’ in the Rain, while an animation of the ‘Near’ sheep is accompanied by music from 2001: A Space Odyssey but the whole is beautifully child-focussed. So thanks to Monkey Baa’s creative team who so ingeniously brought Mem Fox’s gentle read-aloud book with its iconic Horacek illustrations to life. 45 minutes, no interval, ages 1-6, and gorgeous.
