Behind the Curtain of Zietta and the Little Larrikins
On Thursday we worked our little bottoms off providing 35 Kilcoy kids with our premium puppet service option, care of the local library. We did a short show, conducted a short puppetry performance workshop (where the kids all get to have a go at a puppet) then ran a sock puppet craft workshop. Some parents (and grandparents!) joined in to supervise the craft, some did a dump and run, and some worked outside on their laptops.
After the whole thing was over a mum came up to me and offered to crochet a vintage shawl for me … for free. Or “Pelerine” if you want me to use a fancier word than shawl!
I was like “Are you serious? Why?” and she said that I was so passionate about sharing my art with the kids and families in the room that I deserved something back. Or something. She phrased it more profoundly than that.
I told her I had been thinking that a crocheted shawl might work nicely as something I can wear as Zietta (the fun Aunty!) for my new big theatre stage show (Zietta and the Little Larrikins).
We had one of those “Oooh the universe aligns” moments and we shared a hug. And she’s legit making me a shawl! It’s so generous. I was so touched. I even shed a few tears and she let me.
As a puppeteer I have to wear black, but I’ve been looking for a costume that I can easily put on and off throughout the show in case I need to appear as a puppeteer rather than Zietta. I really love the tutu sleeves, but they’re so in the way! They’re a lot! Crochet is such a beautiful aesthetic and a shawl is so easy to take on and off.
They’re two entirely different aesthetics, so it’s hard to choose. I honestly don’t know what I’ll end up wearing. I think I will have to try both and see what works best.
Anyhoo, the artist has asked me what colours I’d like and I’m thinking, given Zietta is Sicilian, that she should wear something spectacularly Sicilian like yellow for the lemons, turquoise for the sea and green for the trees. It’s interesting to compare Bribie Island where I live with Sicily where my mother was born, both islands surrounded by vast oceans and busy seas.
I know White Lotus makes Sicily, an Italian island in the Mediterranean, sound so glamorous! However, Bribie Island, like Sicily, has that quiet island character — regional, a little overlooked by the mainland’s big-city gaze, often seen as conservative or rough around the edges, but full of fierce pride, hidden resilience, and a deeper sense of place that outsiders don’t always notice.
I think Elissa the stage performer would wear tutu sleeves but Zietta from Bribie Island would wear a shawl.