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Zietta and the Little Larrikins: A Celebration of Culture, Connection and Creativity | A Large-Scale Theatre Production | Ages 5–9 | For School Groups + Families
Zietta and the Little Larrikins, set in the bush by the beach, is a vibrant live musical stage show that celebrates culture, connection, and creativity.
Packed with humour, heart, and wide-eyed wonder, the show invites children to laugh, sing, and explore alongside Zietta and her playful puppet friends, both local and intergalactic.
Created for ages 5-9 and their families, as well as primary school groups, this elaborate theatrical performance offers an immersive theatrical experience that resonates long after the curtain falls. It features interactive Muppet-style, Bunraku and Blacklight Puppetry, sparking curiosity and inspiring connection.
Aligned with key learning areas in Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS), the production enriches young minds, leaving imaginations soaring and smiles all around!
The show is anchored by a whimsical premise: postcards from children around the world wash ashore and are collected by Zietta – a spirited, fun-loving character whose name means “the fun Aunty” in Italian. Zietta is an Aunty to all the children of the world, answering their questions, embracing their stories, hopes, and dreams with warmth and wonder as she and her puppet friends spread joy, insight, and connection across the globe.
Zietta is a deeply personal creation of performer Elissa Jenkins, who is herself of Sicilian heritage and a child of migrants. Like Zietta, Elissa is an aunty in the truest sense — caring, vibrant, and childfree by choice — and brings to the stage a rare, authentic representation of a larger-bodied older woman. Sometimes using a cane to walk or a magnifying glass to read — as Elissa does in real life while managing an invisible illness — Zietta offers incidental, meaningful inclusion for children who may rarely see such traits in a joyful, central character. She is unlike most hosts you’ll see on children’s stages — and that’s precisely the point. Her presence alone speaks volumes about diversity, visibility, love, and connection.
Each postcard sparks a new question, inviting Zietta and and her delightful puppet companions to explore themes of identity, place, and belonging through Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS). What unfolds is a tapestry of playful stories, rollicking laughs, heartfelt conversations, audience participation, and catchy musical numbers.
At the heart of the production lies a theatre within a theatre — Zietta’s whimsical puppet stage, nestled within the larger world of the performance. It’s through this enchanting inner stage that Zietta responds to the children’s postcards from around the world, using puppetry as her language of empathy, humour, and imagination. The puppet theatre becomes her voice — a portal through which stories come to life, answers unfold, and connection is made.
Surrounding this is the full theatrical spectacle: a vibrant fusion of rollicking laughter, heartfelt conversations, audience participation, and original songs. The main stage holds Zietta’s world, but it is within her puppetry — intimate, hilarious and full of wonder — that she reveals the heart of each tale. It’s a layered, immersive experience: a story told within a story, a stage within a stage. And at its centre is Zietta, inviting children to join her in seeing the world not just as it is, but as it could be — joyful, diverse, and full of wonder.
Key moments include:
- Puppet Blanks: Children from the audience co-create a puppet in real time. Their ideas shape its appearance, and it’s instantly brought to life in an improvised, audience-led musical number—a joyful ode to imagination and collaboration.
- The Giant Octopus: An awe-inspiring walk-around puppet whose tentacles are puppeteered by young audience members. As they work together, moving to the music, the tentacles light up in a stunning spectacle of community joy.
- Lovelace the E-Waste Robot: A Bunraku-style puppet constructed from recycled electronic waste, Lovelace emerges from a pile of discarded tech to explore the harmony – and tension – between the digital and natural worlds.
- The Blacklight Orchestra: A luminous, musical sequence featuring glowing instrument puppets who sing, celebrating the universal language of music.
Co-written, co-directed, and co-produced by Elissa Jenkins and Brett Hansen (Larrikin Puppets), Zietta and the Little Larrikins is proudly made and set on Bribie Island in regional Queensland. It celebrates the region’s rich seaside landscape and natural bushland beauty, while inviting national and international audiences to experience the warmth, creativity, and ingenuity of a distinctly multicultural Australian creation.
Larrikin Puppets is set to launch Zietta and the Little Larrikins in October 2025. We’re currently booking for 2025–2026 national and international theatre seasons. Theatres can enquire now for early bookings.
