Description
Jack and the Beanstalk Short Play Guided Reading Script is really about setting the record straight re: identifying the good and the bad – fairy tales do seem to get their heroes and villains rather badly muddled up at times!
Cast of 6, Reading Time: Around 5 – 10 minutes
Sample Text:
Narrator: And so. Not the most promising start to our story. But before you start thinking it can’t get any worse… well, be warned … it does!
The following morning Jack woke to find a giant beanstalk right outside his bedroom window. And, being a teenager, thought it would be a good idea to climb it – that is, without consulting his mother first.
Jack: What a climb! Up through the clouds to another land! And a magnificent castle
Giant’s Wife: Owned by my husband. A big fella, you might almost say
Jack: A giant!
Giant’s Wife: And one unlikely to welcome in teenage boys like you.
Jack: Can I just say at this point, I think the term teenage is not being given quite the respect it deserves.
Giant’s Wife: Deserves? So, tell me what part of teenager is deserving of anything but the reputation that comes with it?
Narrator: Ooh. Perhaps a tad harsh! But let the youngster’s next actions prove otherwise!
Giant’s Wife: Very well. That takes us to the bit where my husband returns
Giant: Fee Fi Fo Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.
Jack: Yikes!
Giant’s Wife: Ssshh! Stay hidden!
Giant: What was that? Do as you’re bidden? That’s for me to say, not you, wife!
Giant’s Wife: Oh, I wasn’t challenging your authority for a minute, sweet pea! Here, eat up your favourite porridge and then we’ll talk.
Narrator: Well, he must have been up very early because a few minutes later all you could hear was his thunderous snoring! And when I say thunderous, believe me, it made the very foundations shake.
Jack: Time to leave! (Pauses) But not before I’ve helped myself to this large pot of gold!
Giant’s Wife: Hey, what do you think you’re doing?
Narrator: But Jack didn’t hang about to give an answer. He was off and back down that beanstalk in a flash! And there, of course, was his mother waiting for him, with his breakfast, at the bottom.
Jack’s Mother: Here! You went off without this! I was so worried about you!
Jack: No need to worry, mother. Our troubles are over! Look what I brought back with me?
Jack’s Mother: Well, fancy that!
Narrator: Which well she might! Though you’d think she’d spare just one moment to consider where it had come from?
This is one of a series of fairy tales converted into short plays, all available off www.plays-r-ussell.com and including:
- Brothers Grimm
- Rapunzel
- Little Red Riding Hood
- Cinderella
- Hansel and Gretel
- Snow White
Rumpelstiltskin (cast of 4, for more ‘mature’ readers, also available upon request)
Plus
- Pinocchio
- Three Billy Goats Gruff (cast of 5)
- Three Little Pigs KS II (cast of 8 – 10)
And by Hans Christian Anderson:
- The Emperor’s New Clothes – cast of 6; and play (cast of 10) within a play (cast of 30 for KSI
- The Ugly Duckling
- The Princess and the Pea
- Thumbelina
- The Magic Tinder Box
These all come with synopses of the original tale, teaching input, discussion and follow up activity ideas.
Class Plays/Assemblies include:
Pinocchio Play and Panto – Cast of 24 plus. Duration around 40 minutes but, as explained above, this time allowance can be reduced (almost halved) by the omission of music.
Snow White and the 22 Dwarfs – as assembly/class play (cast of 30) and as pantomime (cast of 30 or 60)
Sleeping Beauty (cast of 30) – the importance of saying thank you
Cinderella (cast of 30) – understanding ourselves a little better – not taking things like jealousy out on others; recognising how we feel and doing something positive about.
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