Hu木an: A Sensory Forest Adventure, Sensorium Theatre and The Artground  ·
Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip, 28 September 2022  ·

Going to a Sensorium show is a reminder that while other bits of the world may be shite, our society is now more inclusive than at any other time in human history.  

The Perth-based company has been at the forefront of theatre making for neurodiverse children for more than a decade.  It is the only one in Australia that makes theatre specifically for this audience.   

By incorporating sensory-rich elements, each Sensorium show is a fully immersive experience.  Sometimes, you’re going to the moon (Whoosh); sometimes you’re heading beneath the waves (Oddysea); or you might be heading into the forest (Jub Jub Tree).  Each of these shows were fully realised worlds, carefully crafted by the local Sensorium team, headed up by real-life partners Michelle Hovane and Francis Italiano.   

The origins of their latest venture, Hu木an: A Sensory Forest Adventure, are a little different.  This production springs from a collaboration between Sensorium, the National Museum of Singapore and The Artground, a children’s art space in Singapore.   

Hu木an is based on the museum’s William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings, which comprises 477 drawings of the flora and fauna of the Malay Peninsula in the early 19th century.   

Most of the artists involved in Hu木an are freelance Singaporean children’s theatre artists, so the show has a more “kiddy” feel than Sensorium’s previous productions, which manage to cater fully to children and adults alike.  But like those shows, Hu木an distinguishes itself by offering an experience that is completely inclusive without a hint of paternalism.   

Before the performance, attendees are given a guidebook of sorts, with carefully worded cautions about aspects of the show that some attendees might find tricky (loud noises), as well as an invitation to allow children to make choices in how to view the show (movement and verbalisations are encouraged).   

Echoing the current pro-risk-taking ethos of the disability rights movement, Sensorium is clearly striving to give their audience members agency and autonomy.  This is theatre made for all: the usual rules around neurotypical audience behaviour do not apply.     

On entering the performance space, we encountered a woven canopy of ropes, rattan and felt leaves: the Singaporean jungle.  There’s always a comforting DIY aesthetic to Sensorium works: handmade knitted bananas strung from hessian ropes; loosely stitched felt leaves, glittering with sequins. As we settled onto the forest floor, the artists wove themselves around us, playing gentle music; the soft glow of a single globe like the sun peeping through the forest canopy.   

Eight sequences followed, punctuated by bells.  In the first, a welcome song was sung in both Singaporean and English, singing each child’s name as the artists introduced every child sitting in the circle.   

By limiting audience numbers, the feeling of Sensorium shows is always very intimate – this is an experience you’re sharing with no more than 30 people.  

Using familiar objects in unusual ways is another Sensorium favourite – rattan mats as flapping bird wings; PVC tubing transformed into a surprisingly sweet-sounding flute.  As each sequence unfolded, you could see the children become more and more comfortable and engaged.  A hornbill bird was fed seeds by small, eager hands; the feathers of an adorable owl with giant blinking eyes was stroked by tender fingers.   

Accompanied by gentle acoustic music played by the artists, each piece was a paen to Singapore’s incredible natural environment.  The animals and the sounds brought to vivid life by way of puppets, dances and music.     

Although at times the performers seemed a little more Night Garden than the usual Sensorium fare, the atmosphere created was more akin to a chatty, casual party, rather than anything formally performative.  This was clearly an exchange not just of ideas, but also of cultural modes of storytelling.  Ending with the sharing of foods from the jungle, Hu木an felt like a true collective effort.     

Hu木an: A Sensory Forrest Adventure is at Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip until 1 October 2022.

Pictured top: Keeping the audience small makes Hu木an a very intimate experience. Photo: Richard Watson