The Rainbow Tree

What happens when you invite seven children from Rainbow Families to create a show? You end up with a disco koala, a wildebeest, a farting unicorn and a fairy that can freeze tickle monsters all co-habiting in a very tall, yet tiny Rainbow Tree. This is what it’s like living in a Rainbow Family. Everyone is welcome and anything is possible.

The Rainbow Tree is musical storytelling with moving image. Written with children from Rainbow families, it shares personal and imagined stories around the idea of family, identity and community. Performed by two queer super Aunties, Aunty Bear and ZaZa from Fat Fruit (Bec Matthews and Sarah Ward) with singing and live music, played on instruments and objects you could find around the house. The songs are brought to life through the projected visual images of Jolyon James (Arena Theatre Company) featuring animation, illustrations and the children themselves.

The stories of The Rainbow Tree were collected through Zoom meetings during the six month Melbourne lockdown. These children were isolated from their friends and extended families and had limited opportunity for adventures. This did not stop them imagining new worlds to explore. Worlds inhabited by animals and magical beings, where they could be super versions of themselves and dig up 4005 golden cupcakes. The Rainbow Tree is playful, imaginative and interactive. It’s filled with fun visual imagery, wonderful original songs, live music and stories written by seven children from Rainbow families.

Produced by Performing Lines. Jointly commissioned by ArtPlay and Midsumma as part of the PRISM program at Midsumma Festival. PRISM was assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts. ArtPlay is supported by the City of Melbourne.