Interview: Theresa O'Connor on Inside the Walls

Many cultures have superstitions to prevent illness or bad luck, but when Theresa O'Connor found a single child's shoe under the foundations of a doorway in Tasmania, she was immediately intrigued.

"It looked like it was placed there, it didn’t look like a mistake," says O'Connor. "I researched it and it was from a superstition where people would conceal items in what they thought were weak points of their house where spirits could get in." Creepier still, it was "regularly the youngest member's shoe, and only ever one."

This superstition is the grounding for O'Connor’s pop-up book performance Inside the Walls. The tale follows heroine Izzy as she uncovers a single shoe after moving with her family. "Izzy thinks it's treasure," she says. "But as soon as she takes it from its hiding place all manner of spooky things happen."

Here is where the ingenuity and intricacy of the set come to life. The beautiful set design includes the house in an easily identifiable pop-up book style, but the real magic is seen as the walls themselves become part of the story.

"I had an idea to bring the walls to life," says O'Connor. "But I had these questions – how do I change the colour of paper? How do I do that?"

The resulting piece is a culmination of research and collaboration. After receiving the Library of Victoria's Children's Literature Fellowship, O’Connor set out to teach herself how to create pop-up books. "I studied and took photographs and taught myself how to make [them]. I still pick up books and see things and think 'I want to do that to that page'."

To bring the story to life – literally – O'Connor has devised a series of tricks to fool audiences. As immersive as the experience is, it is also used as a learning tool after the show has ended. "I’m happy to talk about it after and have kids try to figure it out," she says. "The kids love talking about how the shoes climb up the walls on their own!"

Incorporating these technical elements allow for a really accessible show, for a huge range of young audiences. "Crafty kids love the story, technical kids and science kids like trying to figure out how it works," she says. "They all get different things out of it and it caters for different interests really well."

The collaborative efforts to put together the piece have left a mark on O'Connor as a creator and performer. "It was never just a book," she says. "It was the people I worked with discussing and choosing to make it more of an experience for everyone."