Eventyr: a garden story

Eventyr: a garden story, set in the beautiful backdrop of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide, is the story of a girl who finds herself in a crazed garden. On her journey through the garden she encounters, tipsy flowers, mad robbers, and helpful birds that either help or hinder her escape from the madness.

The premise is charming, aimed at children, Eventyr- a garden story has all the elements to keep them entertained; a character they can relate to, silliness, adventure, movement and villains more comical than scary

The location in the Botanic Gardens is used to its full advantage, a rope weaves the audience through the performance, it alternately guides, defines the performance space or forms characters. It’s a clever device that really helps to draw the audience into the piece, keep them moving and guessing. Between being admitted into gardens after hours and following the rope along secluded the paths, Eventyr gives you a sense of adventure right from the start, where will the rope lead us? what lurks in the gardens after everyone leaves for the day?

While I enjoyed this show, I can’t help but feel that it needs either an earlier time slot to appeal to the young audiences or content that speaks to a wider range of ages. However moments of sublime silliness, such as the scene with the tipsy flowers spouting coloured nectar, will undoubtedly appeal to all.

Unfortunately the timing of Eventyr coincided with a certain car race held nearby. The performers dealt valiantly against the droning of engines, but aspects of the show were drowned out as the sounds intruded. It’s a little hard to get lost in a story and the gardens with cars doing laps less than 2km away. The fact that the show succeeded in engaging the audience despite this intrusion speaks to what it could achieve if the gardens were its more tranquil setting.

Spiriting people through the Botanic Gardens until March 7, Eventyr is a local production, produced by Beg, Borrow and Stea.