A scene from The Piper, part of the 2014 Sydney Festival. Picture: Jamie Williams Source: Supplied THE Piper is a very good play, which is wonderfully narrated and based on the classic Pied Piper tale. In this one a bear is the piper and the town's kids are his friends who follow him after the sneaky mayor breaks his promise to reward the bear for ridding Hamlin of a rat plague. It's better than the original story because in this version, when the kids get trapped in the mountain they have fun dancing to pop music rather than be treated cruelly. The kids are all very happy and I think they show themselves to be smarter than the adults who created the garbage that attracted the rat plague in the first place. In each performance, audience members, 12 kids and 12 adults, are chosen to participate, acting the roles of the town's people. They receive stage directions through headphones, enabling a lucky few to have an insiders' experience of the play. I liked that the audience could join in: you might be next! After The Piper, Sacrilege is a good place to go. The huge, life-size jumping castle in Hyde Park is based on Stonehenge. Every 10 minutes a hundred people get a go. We waited for 40 minutes, which was ok. There is music when you bounce and it was really fun because if you run into one of the rocks you just bounce off. Parents can join in, which is good, and my sister got tired because we jumped so much. I think the Sydney Festival has improved its offerings for kids. The Piper Carriageworks. Until Sunday. Sacrilege Hyde Park North. Until January 26.