a re-working of the Scottish folktale Childe Rowland.
In our version, Burd Ellen sets out on a quest to save a much loved brother. Her two other brothers have already tried and failed. They made some bad choices. Burd Ellen shows determination in the face of adversity and finally love triumphs over the forces of darkness. The play contains the classic elements of the great folk tale tradition: the quest, the guide, the rule of three and, of course, the happy ending.
Within the framework of this exciting adventure we also look at what might be involved in making good choices. This includes some basic neuroscience about the roles played by different parts of our brains! So we're combining modern scientific understanding with the ancient wisdom of old words.
Technical details:
get-in 90 minutes;
performance 50 minutes;
post-performance questions and discussion 15 minutes;
get-out 45 minutes;
performance area 5m x 5m x 3m height;
access to at least 3 13 amp sockets for the lighting rig, sound equipment and projectors that we carry.
synopsis
original version
synopsis
Little Brother and LIttle Sister run off into the forest to escape the bullying of their wicked stepmother.
But their wicked stepmother has magical powers and can see them in the forest. She casts a spell on the waters of the forest so that if Little Borther or Little sister drink from the waters they will turn into wild beasts - and eat each other up.
The voice of their dead mother warns them of the spell but eventually Little Brother gives in to his thirst and drinks from a puddle. He immediately turns into a deer.
Little Sister leads her brother the deer into the deepest, darkest part of the forest where the wicked stepmother can no longer see them. There they find an empty house where live, content, for a number of years.
Then one day they hear the hunters' horns. The deer is excited and persuades his sister to let him go outside. He happily leads the hunters a merry dance. But on the second day he is wounded. And on the third day he can't run so fast and the hunters follow him to the house where he lives with his sister. They tell the King what they've seen. The King demands that Little Sister opens the door. When she does, the King falls in love at once and asks Little Sister to be his Queen. She agrees.
LIttle Sister and Little Brother move to the Palace. She is now a Queen and he is still a deer. Their wicked stepmother discovers what has happened and disguises herself as a washerwoman in order to get a job at the Palace. She waits for her chance.
One evening, when the King is away hunting, LIttle Sister goes for a walk by the river. The wicked stepmother follows her; and the deer follows them both. The deer witnesses Little Sister being pushed into the river by the wicked stepmother. Little Sister is held under water, tangled in the reeds. The wicked stepmother disguises herself as the Queen and hurries back to the Palace. The deer sings to his sister, trapped in the reeds.
When the wicked stepmother discovers that the deer has witnessed what she has done, and that he is singing about her crime, she persuades the King that they should eat the deer and asks him to hunt the deer to the death. The King agrees and the deer runs for his life. Eventually he arrives at the riverbank where he sings of the crime that the wicked stepmother has committed. The King orders the hunt to stop and dives into the river. There he finds Little Sister and he frees her from the reeds.
The wicked stepmother sees that the game is up and runs for her life. The hunstmen chase her into the dark of the forest.
Now that the spell is broken, Little Brother turns back into his human shape and he and Little Sister and the King live happily ever after.
