Les Moutons at Arts Centre Melbourne - Review

Kate and her little ones had a stare (or two!) this morning at some funny looking sheep on the Arts Centre Melbourne's Lawn and were quite amused! Here's what they thought. Thank you Kate for the review and pics xo Catherine

Art Centre Melbourne’s FREE family-fun summertime program continues this week with the ‘sheep’ of CORPUS’ Les Moutons taking up residence on the Arts Centre Melbourne Lawn now until Sunday 22nd January. 

We arrived at the Arts Centre Melbourne Lawn (located between the Theatres Building and Hamer Hall, where the weekly Sunday Market is held) and didn’t know quite what to expect of the presentation of Les Moutons.  

A white fenced yard was in the centre of the lawn area and we quickly spotted two white ewes and one black ram inside, under the watchful eye of a shepherd.  Making our way through the already large crowd around to the top of the yard, we heard squeals (or was it screams?!) coming from nearby – there was another white ewe tied up to the fence away from the others.  This sheep was watching the yard keen to join in on the fun whilst making very loud baaing noises and moving around - much to the excitement of the little ones close by.  A few were even brave enough to give him a pat.  

During the performance, we observed routine activities including shearing, feeding, herding, milking and even bowel movements! The piece is interactive and audience members are even allowed to help feed the sheep (lettuce and alpha spouts if you were wondering). The wooly cast - white ewes Julie, Marie-Louise and Bernadette and black ram Cesar - provide an unforgettable, albeit slightly strange and hilarious performance where expression, movement and humour provide all the words needed for audience members to gain insights into the lives of sheep. 

CORPUS’ Les Moutons is more than a wordless live installation that recreates a bucolic country scene in a typical urban setting, it is a performance showcasing the integration of voice and movement, improvisation, comic timing and precision.  You may not know exactly what or why you are watching but I guarantee that you won't able to resist staring at the sheep’s faces as they look off into the distance, moving their tongues in a licking motion and having a little giggle to yourself. 

Note – some of the sheep escape the yard during the performance and run through the audience. Several of the young children (including our two poppets, aged 2.5yo) found it a little scary so be mindful of this if you have little ones with you.      

Les Moutons will be performing on the Arts Centre Melbourne Lawn from Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd of January 2017 and is suitable for all ages. 

For more information on what times Les Moutons are performing, head to the Arts Centre Melbourne's website.

For more ideas on what to do with the little ones, head to our blog or CBD Top 5 FREE activities or our popular Daily Spots List.