Name: IMAGINE LIVE | Darwin
Start: 2025-10-09T11:30:00+09:30
Location: AANT Centre - The Territory's Premier Live Entertainment Venue

AANT Centre presents
By Jolyon James based on the book Imagine by Alison Lester
Produced by Jolyon James and NCM
“It’s about animals!”…"It's about Imagination!”…“It’s about our Home!”
Magical and meaningful, IMAGINE LIVE is a celebration of creativity, friendship and our precious natural world. With the help of the audience, performers play and sing their way through the pages of Imagine, and quickly discover there is WAY more to these pages than they first thought. Spot a leopard, dive with a dolphin or dig up a dinosaur as this iconic book springs into life before your eyes.
IMAGINE LIVE is an innovative artistically rigorous work using cutting edge body mapping digital puppetry, face recognition technology, animation, original music and participatory storytelling.
Underscored by a beautiful music score, characters and objects travel between real and animated worlds. IMAGINE LIVE oscillates between Imagine's iconic natural environments and the playful home setting of the children. Projection screens work seamlessly with oversized props and puppets skillfully brought to life by live performers and a digital puppeteer. The players use creativity to connect a long distance video call between a granddaughter and grandmother, enjoying a nostalgic connection with their favourite book, Imagine.
Relevant to both multigenerational and diverse audiences, the show is a reminder that connection, creativity and play are essential ingredients for positive mental health. IMAGINE LIVE’s deep environmental theme invites us to look beyond our backyards into a shared and richly beautiful world.
Building on the knowledge and success gained in the creation of Helpmann Award winning show, Robot Song, IMAGINE LIVE reunites the creative team Ashlea Pyke, Nate Gilkes, Phillip McInnes and welcomes Eliza Hull as an Access Inclusion Consultant to create an experience that is as enjoyable as it is transformative.
Credits Creative
Jolyon James Writer / Director / Designer
Benjamin Van Dillen Production Manager / Lighting Design
Nate Gilkes Composer
Justin Gardam Sound Design
Ashlea Pyke Assistant Director
Eliza Hull Access Consultant
Producer / Agent Nicholas Clark Management (NCM)
Alison Lester Author of ‘Imagine’
Allen & Unwin Publisher of ‘Imagine’
Credits Cast
Ashlea Pyke Actor
Aubrey Flood Actor
TBC Touring Musician
Phillip McInnes Actor / Digital Puppeteer
‘Nana & Soli’ Susie Armstrong & Goldie Wood
Post show talk
Enjoy a Q&A with the cast and company following the performance.
Performance warning
Recommended for ages 4-12.
Supported by Co Producer Geelong Arts Centre and Creative Australia, Associate Producer Riverside Theatres, Parramatta and Mornington Peninsula Shire. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.