Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Queensland Theatre Company presents Head Full of Love from July 7

by

Head Full Of Love

Colette Mann & Roxanne McDonald at their best in this heart-warming tale 

When a white woman flees her Sydney life she is surprised to find herself in Alice Springs, sitting on a bench with a black woman crocheting a beanie. It is in this setting that woolen thread is entwined into a touching yarn, sure to enchant audiences with warm humour and tender heartbreak that feeds the soul. Inspired by the annual Alice Springs Beanie Festival, Queensland Theatre Company presents Head Full of Love, at QPAC’s Cremorne Theatre from 7th July for a five-week season.

This intricate and wisely told tale by Australian playwright Alana Valentine (Run Rabbit Run, Parramatta Girls) is directed by QTC Artistic Director Wesley Enoch and stars Colette Mann (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Strange Bedfellows) and Roxanne McDonald (Skin of our Teeth, Parramatta Girls, The Story of the Miracles at Cookie’s Table).

It’s a long way from the big smoke for Nessa Tavistock (Colette Mann) who finds herself inadvertently part of the Alice Springs Beanie Festival pilgrimage for women as diverse and distant as the Anangu and Tjanpi weavers and Western women from all over the world. For Nessa’s happenstance friend Tilly Napuljari (Roxanne McDonald), meeting the entry deadline for her new creation allows the women to weave a relationship based on shared secrets, struggles and successes. The two women realize that despite their differences in language, surroundings and upbringing, they are not so different after all, and their stories are forever linked together, row by row, colour by colour. “As they crochet their beanies there is a healing process, and from this, a sense of self evolves. It is a wonderful metaphor for Australia today,” says QTC Artistic Director, Wesley Enoch. “Theatre is a vehicle to share the stories that we may not otherwise hear, and the way a remote community has found a way to overcome the limitations of access to healthcare is an important one to share with the greater community of Australia.”

What:   Head Full of Love, by Alana Valentine

When:      7 July – 11 August
Where:     Cremorne Theatre, QPAC
Director:  Wesley Enoch
Cast:         Colette Mann and Roxanne McDonald

Tickets:   $33-$65 queenslandtheatre.com.au

Read These Next

Have you read?

Learning about Finland for Kids

Finland is a country in Northern Europe bordered by Sweden, Norway and Russia, as well as the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Let’s learn more about this Nordic country. 

Finland Basics

Finland is 130,678 square miles, or 338,455 square kilometers, and is home to about 5.7 million people. 

Its capital and largest city is Helsinki. The official languages are Finnish and Swedish.

The area now known as Finland was first settled around 9000 BC, and it was part of Sweden from the late 13th century until 1809, when it became an autonomous grand duchy within the Russian Empire. It declared independence in 1917 and it officially became a republic in 1919. It lost some territory to Russia after World War II but retained its independence.

It was the first country in Europe to grant its citizens universal suffrage, and the first in the world to allow all adult citizens to run for office. It is a Nordic style welfare state with an advanced economy and is often ranked as one of the countries with the happiest people in the world. 

It has a unitary parliamentary government, with a president and prime minister.

The name in Finnish is Suomi, and it’s not clear where the name came from but it seems to have a common original with the Sámi, indigenous people from the Nordic region and Russia. 

Finland National Symbols

The flag of Finland has a white background with a blue Nordic cross (which looks like a Christian cross on its side) in the center. It is said that the blue represents the nation’s thousands of lakes (there are more than 180,000 recorded lakes in the country) as well as the sky.

The national anthem, “Maamme” in Finnish or “Our Land” in English, was originally written for the 500th anniversary of the town of Porvoo and was first performed in 1848. The song is not officially the national anthem but has been commonly used as the anthem since the nation’s independence. Estonia‘s national anthem uses the same tune. 

Finland’s coat of arms is a crowned heraldic lion on a red field, with the right front leg replaced by a human arm holding a sword. He’s also standing on a sabre and surrounded by nine roses. 

The Eurasian brown bear is the national animal, and the Finnhorse is the national horse. Finland’s national insect is the seven-spot ladybird and the national fish is the European perch. 

Lily of the valley is a floral emblem of Finland, and their national dog is the Finnish Spitz. In addition, granite, the silver birch, the Whooper swan and the holly blue butterfly are all considered national symbols. (You can read about several of these here.)

Finland Learning Activities for Kids 

Grab resources for teaching about Finland from Teachers Pay Teachers. Artsy Craftsy Mom also has a printable fact book you can purchase.

Make a tape resist Finnish flag with this idea from taidekoti. Or use watercolors to make the Northern Lights, which can be seen in Finland, with this project from The Pinterested Parent. And learn more about the Aurora Borealis in this video from Little School.

Learn more about the boreal forest/taiga biome, which covers the majority of Finland, with this resource from Let’s Talk Science. Talk about the differences between brown bears and grizzly bears, and pull out horse crafts and learning activities. 

Take a listen to some music performed on the kantele, the national instrument of Finland. 

Check out the Moomins, described as “with and roundish trolls with large snouts,” developed by Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson.

The national food of Finland is rye bread, so give it a try with this recipe from Zingerman’s. (It will still be good even if you don’t have freshly milled rye.)