Sam McBratney's timeless children's tale, Guess How Much I Love You, will see life-size puppetry and magic perform a story of love and nature on June 10 and 11.

Playwright Richard Tulloch said moments of physical humour often got the greatest laughs from a young audience, but "design, music and lighting create a sense of wonder and magic and bring a few gasps too".

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"We've avoided the staple children's theatre devices of song, dance and audience participation in favour of trying to make a thing of beauty," he said.

"It's notable too that although the puppet operators are in full view of the audience, children and adults alike quickly accept the hares as living creatures."

He said the original book was "totally charming" with both its language and its illustrations by Anita Jeram, with "no surprise that it's been a best-seller around the world".

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"The setting in an idyllic European countryside and the possibilities for puppetry to bring the nutbrown hares to life made it an exciting challenge to adapt for visual theatre," Tulloch told the Mercury.

"We drew elements from Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram's other books, which are about changing seasons and adventures with small creatures the hares meet along the way.

"To this I added some gentle conflict as Little Nutbrown Hare is impatient to explore the wider world, while Big Nutbrown Hare, like any anxious parent, is always wanting him to 'wait till you're bigger'."

The show runs for approximately 55 minutes with no interval and is suitable for ages three and up.

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A Q&A session will follow the 12.30pm performance on Friday June 10.

There is also a performance on Saturday June 11 at 10am, and a "relaxed performance" (suitable for people with autism) at 12.30pm.

For more details, visit: www.merrigong.com.au

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