Check Out! is a wickedly funny work of theatre about the consumer culture bonanza. Set in a supermarket, Check Out! follows the remarkable adventures of tantrum-throwing Baby who is determined to get what she wants. Filled with puppetry at its most inventive and cheeky, Baby soon meets shelf products which come to life, and Speedy who helps her discover that you need more than just stuff to see you through.

Fast paced and physical, Check Out! is a very funny and ever-so-scathing take on parent/child relationships and the market power invested in children. Designed as a cure for affluenza, Check Out! is a muzak-filled slapstick puppet tale which will make sure that a trip to the supermarket will never be the same again.

Entranced by the lure of a chocolate bunny, Baby runs away from her Dad, gets lost in the Supermarket and meets Speedy, who lives in the supermarket. Baby swaps her beloved toy Ivan with Speedy and, in return, can have all the products she wants. As life at the top becomes sugar fuelled and dangerous, she realises that having everything is not all it's cracked up to be. On the run from shelf stackers, the Manager and the products themselves, Baby battles for survival in the supermarket and realises that life is not just about ‘I want, I want'..



 

 

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Reviews

publication: Herald Sun, 2008
publication: Herald Sun
publication: Groggy Squirrel
publication: Rhapsody Magazine, 2009

Creative Biographies

Sue Giles

Co-Writer / Director

Sue Giles was appointed as Artistic Director of Polyglot Puppet Theatre in August 2000. While at Polyglot she has broadened the company's puppetry performance base to include community participation and creative processes with children. Before Polyglot she was a freelance writer, director and performer.

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Ania Reynolds

Musician / Composer

Ania is a freelance composer/sound designer and musician who has composed for Polyglot Puppet Theatre Company, Westside Circus, NICA, the Women's Circus and Sweet 'n' Sour Circus. She has also composed for film, and performed her scores with The Silent Box film score project.

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Belinda Green

Venue & Production Manager

Belinda joined the team at Polyglot as Venue/Production Manager in 2008. As a stage manager, she has worked with companies such as the Victorian Opera, OzOpera and international theatre makers Philippe Genty (France) and Petr Matasek (Czech Republic).

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Bruce Paterson

Performer

Bruce has been a puppeteer/actor for over twenty years, performing with Puppet companies Polyglot Puppet Theatre, Terrapin and Spare Parts among others. He toured with The Hobbit and The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe nationally. He recently directed Tadpole, and has written and drawn a book I Met The Toothfairy and other childhood tales.

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Darryl Cordell

Set Design / Maker

Darryl graduated from the VCA, majoring in fine arts (sculpture) and completed a post-graduate diploma in Theatre Design. He has contributed creatively to work across various cultural platforms, including youth arts, installation, fine arts and theatre, as designer, builder and project co-ordinator.

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Graeme Davis

Puppet Designer / Maker
Graeme Davis has studied Post Graduate Diploma in Fine Arts Sculpture and has a history of activities covering, performance art, exund sculpture, installation work and painting exhibitions. Most recently he has entered the world of puppetry, beginning with a work Deus Ex Machina in Polyglots Ardent Shorts.
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Julianne O’Brien

Co-Writer

Julianne is writer and dramaturge of many years experience with a history of involvement with innovative companies and projects. She is currently writing The Chickabees a screenplay for independent film producer Screen Actors Studio.

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Justine Warner

Performer

While completing a Bachelor of Arts in Performance studies at VUT in 1999, Justine  realised her love for puppetry and created a solo roving performance called ‘Piccolo’s Dreaming’ for the 1999 Melbourne Fringe festival, and went on to perform as a street performer at festivals in Australia and Europe.

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Keira Lyons

Performer / Original Cast / Devisor
Keira has been joyfully associated with Polyglot Puppet Theatre for several years.
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Krisztian Bagin

Performer
Krisztian arrived in Australia in 1980 from Hungary via Germany. After several years studying Chiropractic, Krisztian realised that he wanted to touch people emotionally, but definitely not physically.
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Mischa Long

Performer
Mischa Long has been a performer, puppeteer, set and props maker, designer and artist for over ten years.
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Teachers' Resources Pack

Check Out Teacher Resource

Check Out! teachers kit - Adobe PDF file (download).

Touring History

On the Road
Victoria
15/10/2007 - 26/10/2007
RAV Schools Tour
On the Road
Queensland
18/02/2008 - 20/03/2008
Queensland Arts Council schools tour
On the Road
Queensland
27/04/2008 - 13/06/2008
Queensland Arts Council schools tour
On the Road
Victoria
28/06/2008 - 28/06/2008
Phoenix Park Library
On the Road
Victoria
11/08/2008 - 29/08/2008
Regional Arts Victoria Schools Tour
On the Road
Victoria
27/02/2009 - 22/04/2009
Victorian metropolitan and regional tour
On the Road
18/07/2009 - 26/07/2009
Shanghai International Children's Festival, China
On the Road
04/05/2010 - 08/05/2010
National Theatre of Korea and Nowon Theatre in Seoul
On the Road
04/08/2010 - 08/08/2010
Sha Tin Town Hall and HKICC in Hong Kong

Freight and Technical Specs

Check Out Technical Specs

Checkout! can be performed as a theatre production or a school hall production.

The theatre production works on a larger scale. It has a larger set, lighting and an extra performer.

The tech requirements for a theatre production are -

Audience - Children 5 - 12 and families

Length of show - 45 mins (plus optional 15 mins for Q&A) - No interval

Lighting - Plan provided, will fit on most standard rigs.

Sound - In house system (USB, mini disc or CD capabilities)

Stage Requirements - 8m x 8m stage needed, minimum 3m height.

Time - 6 hour bump in including tech run. 1 hour bump out.

The tech requirements for a school hall production -

Audience - Children 5 - 12 and families

Length of show - 45 mins (plus optional 15 mins for Q&A)

Lighting - General in house lighting

Sound - Polyglot to bring audio player

Stage Requirements - 8m x 8m stage needed, minimum 3m height.

Time - 1 hour bump in, 1 hour bump out.