A Hat Full of Proverbs

Proverbs, fables, sayings, legends and fairy tales come into play.

Who, we wonder, was the first to think that ‘the children of the wise cook before they get hungry’? Who managed to fit a whole story, an experience, a little lesson in life into just a few words? Proverbs have been travelling by word of mouth for centuries. We hear them from our grandparents, we often use them without knowing where they came from — and behind each one lies a whole world.

AEROPLIO decided to open up this world and turn it into theatre. So it filled a hat with proverbs and created a performance full of play, humour, music and surprises. Mr Hat, Mrs Hat, a persistent ant and the formidable Mrs Parimia Stringla sweep the children into an adventure where proverbs come to life, get turned upside down, take on faces of their own and become a reason for laughter, questions and joining in.

The children don’t just watch the story. They step into the game, answer, help the heroes, recognise familiar phrases and discover others they may be hearing for the first time. An imaginative theatre performance with an original story, video animation, songs, dance, witty dialogue and the children’s active participation. A meeting of theatre and our folk tradition, with no classroom tone and no ‘lecturing from on high’.