Babe, the Sheep-Pig

Grown-ups will be familiar with this sweet story, either from Dick King-Smith’s 1983 novel, The Sheep-Pig, or the award-winning movie, Babe (Chris Noonan 1995), but this 1998 stage adaptation by David Wood, running just on an hour, works a treat for the small fry.  My companion – granddaughter, age 6 – sat entranced and smiling throughout, with total concentration. The very successful movie has more tension and more jeopardy (as successful movies tend to do).  This very entertaining and inventive production by Victorian Youth Theatre softens and simplifies (nothing too scary), but the bones of the story are there.  The eponymous Babe, a piglet won at a fete and destined for Christmas dinner, turns out to be as good a sheepherder as any dog – albeit with methods of his/her own and a little help from his friends.

Visually, the casting is just a little off in terms of sizes.  A cat, a cockerel, a turkey and some ducks are as big as the humans - although the kids in the audience don’t seem to care.  With Jessica Koncic, a full size woman, as Babe, this is particularly so, but she’s excellent in every other way, giving the piglet a sweetness and touching naivety that luckily leads to courage and success.   (It’s somewhat disconcerting, however, that Ms Koncic voices Babe in a way reminiscent of Julia Gillard!  Is this a sly political comment?) 

The production features two more adults.  As Mrs Hogget, Kristen Robertson could perhaps reign in the hearty vehemence, making her transition from her lip smacking over the bacon to becoming Babe’s protector and supporter rather smoother.  Liam Warren as Farmer Hogget carries off his role nicely by saying almost nothing and maintaining a Buster Keaton-like stone face.  Piper Knight, clearly a teenager, does very well with the large burden of Fly, the sheep dog who becomes the piglet’s surrogate Mum - even if, to me, she is much too young to be an old sheepdog, But she must also be narrator, speaking direct to the audience and engaging them in some participation to help Babe succeed, carrying that off with confidence and sincerity.  

Otherwise, a large cast of kids (too numerous to name here), with what looks like a wide range of ages and sizes, double up as sheep, ducks, puppies, rustlers, wolves and various humans at the fete and sheepdog trials.  Their various roles are helped by clever, imaginative costumes (the border collie puppies and the sheep are particularly good) designed by Jennifer McKenzie – a high achievement of this production.  We might add that she seems to have had an adequate budget for the realisation of her ideas! 

At the same time, Tony Nikolakopoulos’ concise direction and the choreography by Alicia Nisi and Cara Dinley (upbeat music by Andy Coates) bring all these animals to life in a most entertaining – but achievable for the kids - way.  Watching the puppies fawn on Farmer Hogget but be mean to Babe is terrific – as is watching Babe herd the sheep – who, in addition, speak with plenty of ‘baaaa’ in their dialogue.

This is a straightforward but energetic production that communicates directly with its target audience.  Talking it over with my granddaughter afterwards, I got the idea that what matters most is the story over and above any production, casting or performance issues.  What did she think of, say, Mrs Hogget?  Answer: ‘She came good.’  Suspension of disbelief is easily achieved with this most enjoyable show.

Michael Brindley