Polyglot Theatre's Trailblazer

An unexpected adventure awaits parents brave enough to let their children take the lead.

From 19 – 20 October, Federation Square and the grounds surrounding will become Trailblazer. An extraordinary play space designed by Polyglot Theatre for the 2013 Melbourne Festival, Trailblazer is about choosing the more exciting path, both literally and figuratively. Trails lead in, out, through and around the nooks and crannies of Fed Square, creating adventure in a space we only think we know.

Trailblazer, like Polyglot, draws on the desire lines of children – the most wiggly, adventurous and curious path between A and B.   Walking along the street doesn't mean walking along the street – it means hopping, running, climbing, balancing, crouching to look at something for a long time.

'Our newest innovation looks into the way children move through public space and the difference between their action and the action of adults. We want to disrupt the -straight adult line' and welcome the curious fun of children to pedestrian purpose," says Polyglot Theatre's Artistic Director Sue Giles. 'Trailblazer provides a play space for children based on the delightful whimsy and fascinating desire lines that children are more likely to follow, but also unites adults with these paths and asks them to let go and let the children direct the experience."

Trailblazer is made up of three major projects - See Bubble Sea, Bell Bird, and Kids Occupy. Inspired by the game Getting Around the Room Without Touching the Floor, all of these projects are all linked by Stepping Stones so that not for one instant does a child have to touch the ground.

See Bubble Sea, with its glass walls filled with fish, turns the Atrium into a seascape. A whale looms overhead, touchable, interactive sculptures abound, paths lead to places that have never been trodden before and -water' pours over the edge of the mezzanine level as if cascading into the cafes below. Six child-sized bubble-wrap suits are ready to be worn around the whole space –all there to stimulate imaginative play.

In Bell Bird, the pathway around the rear of The Edge is transformed into a quiet, secret place where only six people can go at a time. Children enter to be met by the Bell Bird, who blindfolds them and leads them in a chain to the entrance. They feel their way through a chiming, silver-tongued environment where they must rely on their hands and ears to find the way through a delicate path of bells, soft stretchy elastic ribbon and eucalyptus leaves, piled in aromatic heaps.

The Kids Occupy project is a collection of 20 little tents sitting peacefully on the cobbles of Federation Square. Created by Polyglot artists in conjunction with children who are blind or have visual impairment, each tent has a braille outer of names or poems written on the surface. Each tent has a different interior such as books, drawing materials, pillows or hanging clouds to engage and stimulate. Kids Occupy represents the place of children as social actors, as being in a position, literally, to make a difference. It asks the question, -What would you change about the world you live in?' and encourages imaginative play and a creative disruption of the square.

In Trailblazer, kids are invited to use a space designed especially for the intrigued mind of youngsters, and their adult friends are invited to enjoy the beautiful -what's the hurry?' nature of a child's mind.