Poppy the Penguin is a fun musical with a serious message. Composer, Caroline Hoile (Grumpy Sheep Sheep Music) is passionate about environmental issues that are affecting our world today as well as performing and writing high quality music for performance by primary school children. It is very aptly being released on 25 April, World Penguin Day.
Caroline has written many musicals to date, and this one is set to become another big success. Poppy the Penguin lives in the beautiful Antarctica and she begins to realise that her lovely home is warming up. She becomes very concerned about what will happen to her family and friends and wonders if there is still time to do anything about it.
Caroline explains: “The musical explores the relationship between humans and climate warming, and shows how our way of life has led to this environmental emergency; importantly, however, the musical gives hope and communicates that if we redress the balance by making practical changes to the way that we live, we can all indeed help save our natural world and its many wonderful creatures.”
The musical is full of lively songs with great lyrics. It is an excellent way of helping children to explore the issues around global warming in an engaging and fun way. Caroline is very keen to allow the performing arts to be a ‘way in’ to understanding other subjects and the world around us.
In the words of Dr Batchelder, science teacher and UN Accredited Climate Change Teacher :
” Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) might come up with some of the solutions but the creative arts are essential to communicate and spread the word of some of the serious issues we will all face in the future.”
Batchelder goes on to say of the musical: “Pupils will be introduced to the animals and landscapes of the Antarctic through some fantastic song lyrics and wonderful narration. The songs such as Act Now, Leopard Seals and Blue Whales are catchy, toe-tapping sing-a-long tunes that will engage singers and audience alike. The production would have huge potential for an awesome stage show with stars, chorus, costumes, props and backdrops.”
You can watch a trailer of the musical and also find out how to purchase resources here.
Happy World Penguin Day with Poppy the Penguin!
