a classic tale from the Brothers Grimm


"The old, deep magic of words combines beautifully with the new wizardry of technology." remotegoat.com

Little Brother and Little Sister run away into the forest.  But their wicked stepmother knows where they are and casts a spell.  When Little Brother drinks from a puddle he is turned into a deer.  One day the King comes hunting and chases the deer to the little house where he and Little Sister live.  The King falls in love straightaway and Little Sister becomes his Queen.

The wicked stepmother discovers what's happened and joins the palace staff disguised as a washerwoman.  When Little Sister goes for a walk by the river, the wicked stepmother follows her and pushes her into the river.  The little deer sees what has happened and sings of the crime.  Despite the wicked stepmother's best efforts, the King is alerted; he jumps into the river and saves Little Sister.  And the wicked stepmother is chased away into the dark of the forest.

All this is told with a rich mix of physicalised story-telling, shadow-puppetry, layered video and live cams.  Schools are responding very enthusiastically to the variety of story-telling techniques that the production embodies.


"A montage of traditional acting, puppetry and digital technology woven together to create a rich tapestry that fascinated the children and drew them into the story.

The use of the camera as the children entered the performance area helped them to familiarise themselves with the technology in an interactive way.

The wicked stepmother projected on the screen brought the unpleasantness of the character without the fear and fright.  The shadow puppets on sticks and the overlaying of the stepmother's face was powerful and convincing.

I just love your characterisations - as usual.  The dogs, horses, deer, stepmother, king etc all very believable through your use of body actions and voices.  You both bring to the story such energy and are masters of your craft.

Thank you for yet another story that engaged all our senses and transported us into the magical theatrical story world."

Elizabeth Hill, Headteacher, Hyde Park Infants School


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

script

original version

Little Sister underwater


The children enter the forest


Little Brother turns into a deer



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Little Sister underwater

Little Sister tangled in the reeds.

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Little Brother and Little Sister in the forest.

Little Brother and Little Sister run away to the forest.

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Little Brother is turned into a deer.

Little Brother is turned into a deer.



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.