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Clip description
Noni (Hazlehurst) is going to feed some pretend zoo animals but first she asks the children at home to help her guess what John (Hamblin) is pretending to be. Next she tries to feed the ‘tiger’ some imaginary ‘lovely pineapple jelly’ but discovers that the tiger prefers juicy meat.
Curator’s notes
This sequence demonstrates how two masters of the art of Play School engage and entertain their audience. With no costumes or props, Noni convinces us that she is a zookeeper with an imaginary bag of food for the animals, while John persuades us that he is a tiger, and later an elephant and a barking seal. John’s gift of layering the performance for child and adult audiences is also evident here, as he slips in and out of character in response to Noni’s questions (watch his facial expressions).
Speaking directly to camera invites the child at home to join in. Noni asks the viewer to guess what animal John is from a sound clue only. This play acting, such as growling and acting like a tiger, appeals directly to the pre-school audience and is a key feature of Play School’s success. The sense of the ridiculous so popular with this age group is also evident here, with Noni’s offering of ‘lovely pineapple jelly’ to the tiger.
