Hungry critter crawls onstage

AND POP: Out of the egg comes a tiny and very hungry caterpillar at GPAC this Saturday.

One of the World’s most famous creepy-crawlies wriggles off the page and onto the stage in a puppet adaptation of iconic book The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The play features 75 puppets, that faithfully capture the book’s colourful characters, according to its US author-illustrator Eric Carle.

“I hope the performances will be enjoyed by many and that the colourful characters bring comfort and joy to all who see the stories,” he said.

“It’s uplifting to see such beautiful and cheerful works inspired by my characters.

“I hope my books – and this show – will inspire you and your imagination.”

The Very Hungry Caterpillar has delighted young readers since 1969 and sold 43 million copies worldwide.

Carle’s books have captivated readers with his distinctively colourful hand-painted tissue paper illustrations and simple stories.

US-based Victorian writer Jonathan Rockefeller has recreated four of Carle’s stories in the play with a menagerie from New York’s Puppet Kitchen.

The colourful puppets closely resemble original pictures from The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, Mister Seahorse, The Very Lonely Firefly and, of course, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show has toured five continents and received both Drama Desk and Off-Broadway Alliance nominations.

The show comes to Geelong Performing Arts Centre for three shows at 10am, 12pm and 2.30pm on Saturday.

Rockefeller studied film at Victorian College of the Arts and worked as a screenwriter for Australian television.