Something on Saturday to Delight Adelaide Kids

Many of us had our first taste of live performance when we were children. For most, the experience was thrilling and delightful. It fired our imaginations and in some cases, inspired us to become performers ourselves. Almost without exception that uniquely personal first-time live event found a special place in our childhood memories.

Over the past 37 years the Adelaide Festival Centre’s Something on Saturday season has been the font of such fond memories for thousands of children. Now that the highly anticipated 2014 program has been announced kids can sing, dance and have fun again, in fact every Saturday from 26 April - 30 August, 2014.

In 2014 Something on Saturday presents artists from New Zealand, Africa and Australia. It covers an amazing range of events; slapstick humour, mime, puppetry, percussion, live music, ventriloquism, storytelling, magic, ballet, modern dance, rock n roll, swing and jive, African drums and dance, science, circus, juggling, comedy, games, bubbles, jazz, opera, cabaret, literature, theatre and Japanese story-telling.

Something on Saturday once again has its principal sponsorship from National Pharmacies, bringing the association to its fifteenth year. Tony Wojciechowski, National Pharmacies Managing Director, says, "National Pharmacies is proud to continue our relationship with this iconic South Australian program which exposes so many children to the delight of live performance, and this year's wonderful program provides affordable access to all families."

So what are the highlights of the program?

Mixing up a slapstick treat of culinary chaos at the start of this year's Something on Saturday season is The Magic Chicken, produced by New Zealand’s Theatre Beating.

That’s just the start. There’s a good dose of cabaret for kids too, as Adelaide Cabaret Festival artist Ali McGregor makes her Something on Saturday debut with Jazzamatazz. It’s an hour of jazzy beats and pop classics performed by her jazz trio and accompanied by two dancers who'll teach the kids some classic moves. Lullabies will come alive, as Jessica Wilson performs Still Awake Still! based on the much-loved songs from the bedtime book I'm Still Awake Still! by Elizabeth Honey and Sue Johnson.

Children who love classic stories will join Peter and the Darling children and head off to Never Never Land with the Australian Classical Youth Ballet's production of Peter Pan. It will star TV's Brenton Whittle and Book Worm as narrators, along with some of the best young ballet dancers in Adelaide.

Past attendees of Something on Saturday will be delighted to hear Dr Froth is back with his The Incredibubble Show, a bubble bonanza of comedic, absurd, simple and sophisticated bubble tricks.

A wonderful locally-produced show is Space Encounters, an interactive children’s opera with an enticing story. Creator, Emma Knights says past responses received from teachers and students have been great. She says her favourite comment was from a year four student who said, “I thought opera was just fat ladies in Viking helmets, but this was fantastic”.

No child should miss Andy and Terry's hair raising tree house adventures as award-winning playwright and author Richard Tulloch brings to the stage the bestselling book by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton, The 13-Storey Treehouse.

The popular Foundation Kids Corner craft workshops will remain a mainstay, thanks to the Adelaide Festival Centre Foundation, which is committed to inspiring and stimulating young people with a great selection of fun activities themed to each week's performance. Best of all, they're free.

To close the Something on Saturday season on a high note Zephyr Quartet, with DJ/MC Astrid Pill, has created Toddlerthèque, a daytime dance party for the whole family.

Says Hilary Kleinig, Artistic Director for the Zephyr Quartet, “Toddlerthèque is a great introduction to many different styles of music - it is a bit like a mix of a classical concert, a disco party and a WOMAD all rolled into one performance.”

She adds, “Audiences aren’t born; they are grown. We all start somewhere and tomorrow’s audiences deserve high quality performances right from the beginning of their lives.”

It seems the Adelaide Festival Centre believes this too. Within the delightful and varied offerings of Something on Saturday young audiences will find fun and inspiration, together with a wonderful start to their future appreciation of live performance.

Lesley Reed

Something on Saturday is suitable for children 2 - 10 years.

Click here to read a flip book of events.

For a copy of the program phone (08) 8216 8707 or visit http://www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

Bookings: BASS 131 246 or online at bass

Dates:  26 April - 30 August- check program.

Venue: Adelaide Festival Centre.

Tickets: Tickets are from $11.50 per person when purchasing tickets to four or more Something on Saturday performances (plus a $6.60 handling fee per booking, not per ticket), and single tickets are from $14.50 per person (inclusive of handling fee).Performances sometimes sell out, so patrons are encouraged to book quickly to avoid disappointment.