A caterpillar with a voracious appetite, a seahorse with paternal responsibilities and an artist with a vivid imagination are just some of the characters brought to life on stage in The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. Co-producer Michael Sieders says after long negotiations with the American author Eric Carle this Australian-created premiere production based on his enduringly popular books was given the go-ahead.

"Eric Carle is just so iconic," he says.

"Generations of people have grown up with the books."

It premiered at the Sydney Festival this year and is now touring. Even though the show is aimed at younger audiences up to the age of about six, Sieders says older people sometimes come, even without youngsters, attracted by nostalgia for books they remember reading or having read to their own children or grandchildren.

The show combines four books into one 50-minute show brought to life by actors and 75 puppets designed in the style of the distinctive Carle illustrations including a one-metre long caterpillar.

Sieders says, "The Artist Who Painted A Blue Horse reflects Eric Carle's love of nature and encourages kids to be imaginative and creative."

In it, an artist with a blank canvas departs from conventional animal colours to paint a blue horse, an orange elephant and a red crocodile, ending with a polka-dotted donkey.

"Mr Seahorse is about male sea creatures who take care of the young ones after the female of the species gives birth."

Continuing the nature theme, the title character finds other ocean dwellers doing just that, including a bullhead fish and a telopea fish.

Moving back above the sea, The Very Lonely Firefly loses his tribe and goes in search of them. And in what is probably Carle's most famous story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar eats his wide through a wide variety of foods.

Sieders says, "I remember my first theatrical experience – it was a Humphrey B. Bear show Mum took me to at Christmas."

His love of theatre began there, he says, and he wanted to be able to bring that feeling to children and to inspire new generations of theatregoers.

As a teenager, Sieders entertained ideas of becoming an actor but realised it wasn't for him – he preferred to be on the production side of things so he could be with a show for its entire creative period. He graduated from the University of Western Sydney's Theatre Theory and Practice degree in 2002. He has worked on theatre and film productions as a production manager, writer, producer and director and has been operations manager for the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

He produced four tours for Critical Stages as NSW producer including The Chronic Ills of Robert Zimmerman AKA Bob Dylan (a lie) by Benito di Fonzo and Boxing Day by Phil Spenser and also produced national tours of Lake by Lisa Wilson (which came to Queanbeyan) and Sons & Mothers by No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability as producer for Performing Lines.

Sieders founded his own company, Michael Sieders Presents, about six years ago and has produced about 13 shows including The Brothers Size by Tarell Alvin McCraney S-27 by Sarah Grochala and Fool for Love by Sam Shepard.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show is his first foray into children's theatre but it won't be his last.

"In this country you need to be diverse," he says. But it's not just a matter of economics.

"I like to challenge myself with new things."

The next project he is pursuing is an adaptation of another classic children's story but he says he can't say too much about it just yet. And, he says, he recently went to the Edinburgh Festival where he saw another piece he is interested in bringing to Australia, An Oak Tree by Tim Crouch, a two-hander about a hypnotist confronted by the father of a child he ran over - the latter played by a different actor at every performance.

"Producing is my love," he says.

"I'm very lucky to be doing this."