One of Australia’s
best-loved and prolific writers for young audiences in books, plays, and TV
programs, mourns the lack of attention to the process of making live
entertainment for the young. Its creators are often more inventive with visual
imagery, story structure, puppetry, and electronic effects, than text-based for
adults; but it is secretly assumed that kids will be less critical of mediocre
production than adults. He asks whether stage and film adaptations of popular
children’s books are a benefit or are making it harder for original scripts to
get a hearing; and he looks to other ways of moving forward.
