Description

Nursery Rhyme Origins Assembly

Nursery Rhyme Origins Assembly is on the origins of nursery rhymes and covers ten nursery rhymes. All of these (bar one – Humpty Dumpty) are different from two other scripts on Nursery Rhymes – one (10 nursery rhymes) entitled: Nursery Rhymes Assembly for Key Stage I; and the other (20 nursery rhymes) entitled Nursery Rhymes Assembly Extended Version (which can be used by either Key Stage I or Key Stage II or both!)

Cast Size – 30 – easily adjusted up or down

Duration – around 20 minutes.

Sample Text:

(Enter Humpty Dumpty and soldiers)

Narrator:         Oh oh! Soldiers! Please let this not be more violence?

(Whole cast sings as Humpty Dumpty and soldiers carry out actions)

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Narrator:                     So. I’m hoping nothing worse than an omelette?

Humpty Dumpty:         (Indignantly) Not even as exciting as that! (Pauses) A cannon!

Narrator:                     Pardon? The most well-known nursery rhyme

Humpty Dumpty:         I know! The best-loved, the most popular, the

Narrator:                     (Irritably) Yes, yes.

(Aside to audience) I can see where the large head – make that ego – comes from!

But do tell us about this cannon!

Humpty Dumpty:         Not a lot to tell, really. Apparently used in the English Civil War, placed on a wall, and, well, I don’t need to tell you the rest!

(Exit Humpty Dumpty and soldiers)

Narrator:                     Well, that was a bit of an anti-climax! I do hope we’ve got something better coming up before the end of this assembly.

(Sound of noisy children)

Narrator:                     (Looking at watch) Oh please don’t tell me its playtime already!

(Enter Old Woman waving a stick as children run around her boisterously)

(the Whole cast recites nursery rhyme; Old woman and children act out lines)

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do;
She gave them some broth without any bread;
Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

Narrator:                     (Sarcastically) Delightful!

(Aside to audience) I’ve no doubt we’ll be hearing from social services!

Old Woman:                No! No! Just giving them a little discipline!

(Old Woman waves stick at Narrator who backs away quickly)

Narrator:                     So, who was the real Old Woman?

Old Woman:                (Placing the crown on her head) Ah that’s better! Queen Caroline II. I gave my husband eight children!

(Looks around) It would seem some of them got away! Grrr!

(Old Woman flails around with her stick)

Where are the little blighters?

Narrator:                     Long since gone, if they’ve got any sense!