Aya and the Butterfly
A child’s journey back to happiness with puppetry, music and more
for ages 3 to 9 years and all the family
With the help of Creative New Zealand funding, we have created this new work for children using exquisite puppetry, live music, lots of joining in and giant caterpillar fun, promising a poignant experience for the whole whanau.
‘Aya and the Butterfly’ is based on a children’s book by Ōtautahi/Christchurch author Dr Maysoon Salama, who wrote the story for her granddaughter Aya, after Aya lost her father in the Christchurch Mosque attacks in 2019.
Although it touches on feelings of sadness and grief, it also encourages ‘letting go’ and laughter, resilience building and dealing with change, all metaphorically reflected by the life-cycle and metamorphosis of the monarch butterfly.
This is a poignant story written through the eyes of a child set in a Muslim family in Christchurch but created for all children everywhere. Dr Salama has been working closely with us as a cultural advisor to help bring her story to the stage.
Designed for families and ideal for children aged 3 to 9 years.
Our second development of Aya will premiere in Pōneke/Wellington in April, 2024
Saturday 13 April to Saturday 27th April. 10am and 11.30am
Get Tickets here
For information about our KINDERGARTEN VERSION of this show, please visit our
For Teachers page
Follow this link to a recent article about us in The Education Gazette:
Capturing emotions and imagination through live theatre – Education Gazette
This Stuff article was written when Birdlife Productions did a developmental tour of Aya last year. We took the show to Cultural Conversations in Nelson and also to the Christchurch Islamic community in Wigram, where we were invited to come by Dr Salama to help lift their spirits when the Coronary hearing for the Mosque attacks re-opened in September.
Here’s a photo of Grandad meeting grandad!
A link to a radio talk Birdlife Productions
had in Nelson, Nov 2023
Listen to the Interview here
Dr Masson Salama with Aya
Wigram, Christchurch, Nov 2023
