The Selfish Giant
8 children wait with the teacher at the back of the audience area. The Narrator enters the performance area.
| Idea 1: Discussed in the first class, the narrator could be an old man could be telling the children in the audience a story: Could develop a dialogue for him. He could be sitting in a rocking chair! Could have some interaction with the audience. |
Narrator/ Old man: Once upon a time there lived a selfish giant. He had a large and beautiful garden but he shared it with no one. ‘My own garden is my own garden’, he used to say. The Giant had been to visit his friend the Cornish Ogre and stayed with him for seven years. All these years his garden stood empty: ….empty, that was, apart from a group of school children who played in it each day on their way home from school.
| Idea 2: You have a conversation between the Cornish Ogre and the Giant. |
A bell rings
Teacher: (comes to the centre stage, the children are on benches in front of the audience) 4 o’clock, class dismissed. And I expect more work from you tomorrow. Now, don’t dilly dally on you your way home. Off you go. (Shouting) Quietly!
(The children run up the centre aisle and start to play with the children in the audience. They run down the side aisles and reach the steps to the stage. The curtains open and there is a wall the squeeze through the hole in the wall.)
Child 1 (George): Right that is me in. Come on Millie. I’ll give you hand. Mind the brambles.
Child 2 (Millie): Ouch! My dress! Another tear! Whatever will my mum say? Mind Sarah the brambles are spiteful today. Fold your dress over.
Child 3 (Sarah): All-right nearly through. (She scrambles in) that’s it. Here at last. (Sighing) Wonderful!
Children chatting as the all go through one by one.
Child 4 (Tom): (The last one through and having difficulty). This hole seems to be get smaller and smaller, unless it’s my imagination.
Child 5 (Harry): No, You’ve got that wrong Tom. You’re getting fatter. It’s all that McDonalds.
All laugh!
Child 3: (mimicking teacher in hoity- toity voice). Guess who this is? Now children you should never eat McDonalds because it is very bad for you. You don’t want to get fat do you?
Child 1: Oh yes miss.
Child 2: (Mimicking) And you, finish your carrots. Don’t you want to have better eyesight?
Child 6 (Susan): Oh no Miss.
They giggle and laugh and ad lib about the teacher.
Child 7 (Sam): I love this place! Do you know? I only have to put my toe inside the garden and I feel so happy I have to laugh out loud!
Every one agrees.
Child 8 (Amy): It’s seven years since the Giant was here. I know it’s his garden but he can’t be back after all this time, can he?
Child 6: I hope not. But we’d better make the most of it while we’ve got it.
After all, this garden’s our play ground…….
Child 1: Our Parkland ……
Child 6: Our Paradise ……….
| Idea 3: It might be a good idea to get the children either to freeze frame or mime playing at the back of stage. The inanimate objects such as the wall and the trees could be introduced. You could have three parts of the wall. A good way to write the dialogue is give each part of the wall a specific character. This could be developed from a different emotion like anger, fear, confidence, sadness, happiness, surprise, loving. You can do the same for the trees. |
Child 6: Now, what shall we play? How about a game of stuck in the mud?
Child 7: We played that yesterday
Child 5: I know! Let’s play Giant’s footsteps
Child 6: (Shivering)Ugh no! That’s a bit too much like the real thing. When-is-a-game-not-a-game?!
Child 4: What about blind man’s buff?
All agree
Child 4: Here’s my tie. Come on, Sue. Ready for the blindfold?
Child 6: No not for me! I hate the dark. Pick someone else.
Child 1: Being scared of the dark is for babies.
Child 6: Then I will stay a baby!
Child 8: Blind fold me! I’m not afraid.
(Child 8 is blindfolded and the game begins. The other children easily dodge out of her way as she tries to catch them. ENTER GIANT. The children shrink back as the giant appears watching in silent horror, as child 8 is about to feel her way into his path. The giant grabs her and her children hide, cowering in a tight group, as child 8 is caught.)
| Idea 4: The walls and the trees could be frightened of the giant too. |
Giant: Got you! You little tyke! What are you doing here?
Child 8: (squirming) Oh please, sir, please! Let me go! We’ve only been playing.
Giant: Playing! My own garden is my own garden. Anyone can understand that, and no one is allowed to play in it but me!
Child 8: (Plucking up courage)Well then, if that’s the case. I think you’re a selfish giant! (Realising) Oh please, please don’t hurt me I didn’t mean it. (Pulling free, running away and hiding with the other children)
Giant: How earth did those nuisances get inside in the first place?
| Idea 5: He could give out to the pieces of the wall because they were so relaxed they didn’t keep the wall up. |
Now I can see. What I need is a new wall, a high wall, a thick wall. (He inspects the broken wall and starts to put them together) wall with no holes in it. I must get building straight away No one is allowed to play in MY garden. Oh no!
Children: (whispering to the audience) He is a very Selfish Giant.
| Idea 6: Could have some interaction with the audience – ask question like ‘What type of Giant is he? |
(He builds the wall complaining about the children and the wall. He ad libs)!
Giant: That should do it. Now, where’s that notice? That should teach them a thing or two if they can read. They never get taught proper in schools nowadays, especially when it come to grammaticals. (Proudly views his handy work). Yes….just the job! ‘Trespassers will be prosecutED’
(Giant Exits muttering. Curtain closes to change the scene)
Narrator /old man: Now the children had nowhere to play. They used to wander outside the wall the high walls of the giant’s garden when their lessons were over and talk about the freedom they n longer had.
Children: How happy we were there!
(The children slowly walk off the stage down to the benches)
Narrator: Then spring cam over the country there were flowers blooming and trees in blossom and birds singing. Only in the garden of the selfish giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children. And the flowers had no heart to bloom.
End of scene one
| Idea 7: here you can introduce the snow, the frost, the north wind & winter. They could do a movement sequence to eerie music. Then they could have dialogue. Look at the selfish giant on youtube to get an idea. |
Narrator/old man: The spring never came to the garden of the Selfish Giant, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruits to every garden, but to the Giant’s she gave none, ‘he is too selfish’ she said. So it was always Winter there. The children sad as there was no where for them to play.
(Children are standing outside the wall. They try to peer over the Giant’s wall)
Child 1: It’s the same at school. There’s always a rule saying……
All: (taking up aggressive postures) Go away! Not here! Keep out! Keep off! Get out!
Child 1: do you remember what happened yesterday?
Child 2: yes I do! There we were in the playground on the bit that we’ve been told we can use.
Child 3: (Indicating a vast area with his arms). Not the bit that we’re not allowed on….
Child 2: And we’d started this really good game.
Caretaker (Shouting) now you lot. Out of my way! Can’t you see I’ve got work to do? What do you think this is? A playground.
(The children sigh and take up the positions outside the garden again.)
Child 3: so even the playground doesn’t seem to be a place for us.
Child 4: And it was the same the other day in the park. Now you’d think a park would be a place where we could play!
Child 5: there I was, with my football, all fired up and ready to go.
Child 4: I was in goal…..
(They enact the game of football. Enter the park keeper with a gate closed notice. The game halts immediately.)
Child 5: And it wasn’t even dusk.
(The Park Keeper positions the notice in a deliberate fashion. The children sigh and take up positions outside the garden again)
Child 7: The other day I was on the pavement with Amy. You know chatting and dancing around. We’d just come out of school….
Child 8 ………..and I was showing Sam how to do a hip hop dance.
Child 7: when down the road came this Rolls Royce with a posh man and lady inside.
(They enact the scene- the other children become the car through movement)
Posh Gent/Child 7: Out of my way, gals or we may run you over.
Posh Lady/ Child 8: The streets are no place to play. Go to the park.
Posh Gent /Child 7….Or the playground …..Or anywhere, as long as it’s out of our way.
Posh Lady/Child 8: I simply can’t abide children! Thank goodness we haven’t got any.
(The children sigh, they are outside the garden.)
(One of the children spies a hole in the wall and climbs through. He calls the others. The curtains open and it is spring in the garden again).
Child 6 I can’t believe we are inside the garden!
Child 4: it’s spring time
Child2: It’s morning
Child 3 ……and there‘s no notice, the Giant’s notice is gone!
Child 8 …..And it’s more beautiful then ever.
Scene 3
Narrator: striding outside to feel the spring air, the giant stopped suddenly, all the trees were laden with blossom….except for one. The tree had not been touched by spring and underneath it stood a small child crying because he couldn’t reach its bare branch.
Giant; Here, little fellow…..let me lift you into the tree like the other children. There, no wonder Spring hasn’t come to this garden. How selfish I’ve been. Come on children. I can see you! You needn’t be afraid any more. I’m going to knock down the wall and my garden shall be your playground for ever. Come back! Come back! and play!
Giant: Now I would like to join your games, if you please!!!!
Giant: (suddenly looking around) But where is your little companion.
Child 1: What are you talking about, sir?
Child 2: Do you mean Sarah over there?
Child 3; He doesn’t mean he means Tom or little titch as we call him.
Child 4: Did you want something (stuttering nervously) mmmmmister …ssssir…..mmmister….fffffriendly…..giant?
Giant: I want to know where the little boy is, the one that I lifted up into the branches of the tree.
Child 5: But we all got ourselves up in the trees… we didn’t think you were at home, you see…
Child 4……..Then we heard you.
Child 3: so we hid by the wall. I’m sorry that we trespassed in your garden in your garden, Sir.
(All mumble profuse apologies suddenly anxious that giant might become angry).
Giant: Oh no, no, no. No apology needed. This is your garden now. But I wish you could tell me where the little child is, because he’s rather special to me. I realised through him how selfish I had been with my garden. No wonder spring never came!
Child 5: But this is all of us , Sir. We were the only ones that dared to come in.
Child 3: But we will ask around in school tomorrow and see if we can find who the giant’s little friend has been.
Giant: oh yes please, now I really must have my rest: my old bones ache from the exercise! You carry on playing.
The giant sits on his chair the children continue to play in slow motion.
Narrator/ old man: The years passed but the children were never able to find out who THE Giant’s little friend had been. The Giant grew very, very old. He could no longer play, so he sat in a huge armchair and watched the children. They all feared he would die soon.
Small child enters up the middle aisle. The children all stop playing immediately the giant sees the small child and call out to him.
Giant: There he is! Come on little friend. Where have you been? I’ve waited so long for you. Come and join in the fun. (He hobbles towards the child) My goodness how I’ve missed you! I had a feeling I might die before you came to see me again.
The Giant moves to hug the child, and then draws back in horror.
Giant :(taking the child’s hands and examining them.) Why, who has dared wound you? Tell me quickly and I’ll fetch my sword and slay him.
Small Child: No. these are the wounds of love.
Giant: (Suddenly in awe) who are you?
Small Child: Once you let me play in your garden. Today, you shall come with to a very special garden called Paradise.
The Giant sinks slowly to the ground. The small child kneels beside the giant, makes him comfortable and comforts him. Small child exits. The children aware the Giant has died sadly gather daffodils and place them around him.
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