About the show
A child throws a tantrum – and his room decides to punish him.
Chairs scold. Teapots dance. Garden creatures rise in revolt. In this spellbinding one-act opera, punishment doesn’t come from parents, but from the very objects and animals a boy has mistreated. Only an act of kindness can break the spell. Ravel’s luminous score slips between jazz, ragtime, baroque and birdsong – a kaleidoscope of sound that fizzes with colour and invention. With a surreal libretto by Colette, this is opera as pure enchantment: short, sharp, visually dazzling, and magical for all ages.
Wonder, mischief and mercy – all in under an hour. Bring everyone.
Claudia Osborne has worked with Belvoir, Sydney Theatre Company, Griffin and Bell Shakespeare and her directing credits include Life Is A Dream (Belvoir 25A), Spring Awakening (NIDA) and Picnic at Hanging Rock (NIDA). A 2022 Gloria Payten and Gloria Dawn Foundation Fellow, she travelled to Germany to work with Lydia Steier and the Berlin Philharmonic on Strauss’s Die Frau Ohne Schatten. She was in the Young Artist Program (Director) at Opera Australia and in 2026 directed the revival of Hansel and Gretel for Opera Australia.
– Claudia Osborne
To be advised.
Subject to change during the development of a production.
The Company
Principal Cast (in order of appearance)
]
Director: Claudia Osborne*
Costume Designer: Leah Hall
Lighting Designer: Jay Cairns
Set & Props Designer: Imogen Hale
Production Stage Manager: Hayley Cantrill
Key
*Guest Artist
** NIDA Staff