Adelaide's Patch Theatre To Tour China

Adelaide based children's theatre company Patch Theatre has touched down in China with its multi award-winning production Me and My Shadow, set to commence a nine-day tour at the National Centre of Performing Arts in Beijing on as well as the renowned Changsha Concert Hall.

Me and My Shadow is a rich and vibrant story about the fanciful escapades of a girl making friends with her shadow as she navigates the difficulty and the delight a new friendship can bring. Premiered in Adelaide in 2010, Me and My Shadow was instantly recognised as a truly breakthrough production in Australian children's theatre. It has won a Helpmann Award for Best Presentation for Children in 2011, a Victor Award for Best Showcase Production IPAY in 2013 and was a Sydney Theatre Award nominee in 2011 for Best Production for Children.

The production is the result of two years of creative collaboration between Australia's image-theatre exponents Roz Hervey, Dave Brown and Geoff Cobham, along with composer Zoe Barry and performer/theatre makers Nathan O'Keefe and Astrid Pill. Together they brought their Patch Theatre trademark style to the production which synchronises the use of paper, light, shadow, colour, water, melodic music and dialogue to create a world of play where the imagined becomes real.

The tour marks the first time the 46-year old theatre company, dedicated to making high quality in-theatre experiences for 4 to 8 year olds, has toured to China. The remounted production stars Helpmann Award winner Nathan O'Keefe reprising his role of 'Shadow', and stage and screen actress Sarah Brokensha taking up the role of 'Girl'.

Artistic Director Geoff Cobham is excited for Chinese audiences, both the young and young at heart, to experience Patch Theatre: "This show was an instant classic and has become a benchmark for a new style of creative collaboration. We are very proud of the way design, sound and performance are seamlessly integrated."

Geoff Cobham continued: "I collaborated on Me and My Shadow in 2010 as the lighting and set designer, so to take the show to a different country, particularly one as big as China in my new role as incoming Artistic Director is absolutely thrilling! It's a remarkable, moving and wholly original work which fully deserves the 5-star rave reviews and sell-out seasons it has gathered across Australia and the US. It is a truly beautiful piece of theatre and we so look forward to Chinese audiences having the opportunity to experience it."

Me and My Shadow has toured throughout metropolitan and regional Australia in 2010, 2011 and 2012 including a season at the Sydney Opera House in 2011. The production has twice toured America in 2013 and 2015 with seasons in New York and Washington DC.

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