Play Scripts for Kids Children's drama from page to stage

Classics

Some things just never go out of fashion and that applies to drama as with anything else. Five hundred years on and Shakespeare’s plays are better known and more widely performed than ever. But when looking for classic children’s theater you have to come a bit more up to date – to the late 19th and 20th centuries which saw an incredible flourishing of childrens’ writing – both books and for the stage. From Huck Finn to Harry Potter the last 100 or so years have been great for kids stories and theater.

The scripts below include some of the greatest kids stories ever told, but if you think we’ve missed something important let us know.

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens adapted by Gary Owen


This is the first play adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel from an award-winning playwright who remains close to the original text but significantly updates the humor and fleshes out in spoken dialogue many of the important character passages from the book. This adaptation is not the stuffy stereotype of Victorian England but is unconventionally humorous, gritty and not at all tame in confronting poverty, greed and issues of unfairness in society: themes that will strikingly resonate with modern audiences.


This adaptation and the large size of the cast make it the perfect edition for the thousands of school performances which are held across the country each year during the holiday season. Unique to this adaptation, playwright Gary Own fills in the missing details in Scrooge’s background to explain his miserliness: how he was sent to a workhouse as a boy, starved, beaten and nearly worked to death. The Constable character from the workhouse then haunts Scrooge and appears every time he chooses money over humanity.



A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare adapted by  Carl Heap


This series of Primary Classics is produced by the UK’s National Theatre and aims to introduce young children aged 7+ to Shakespeare by combining clear story-telling with strong theatrical magic


This version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, adapted and abridged by director Carl Heap, preserves the core of Shakespeare’s plot, retains the original language, yet is presented very much with the target age group in mind


And Carl Heap’s inspiring introduction will help readers, teachers, and practitioners to imagine, produce, and stage their own version


‘…in the night, imagining some fear, How easy is a bush supposed a bear!’


With all the dark undercurrents of the traditional fairytale, Shakespeare weaves in farce, slapstick, romance and revelry into some of his most lyrical poetry to create what is perhaps his most joyous play


Runs about 70 minutes


A Midsummer Nights Dream for Kids

A Midsummer Nights Dream for Kids adapted by Lois Burdett


“Who is William Shakespeare?” For more than 20 years, Lois Burdett has asked that question of her elementary school students in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, leading them on a voyage of discovery that brings the Bard to life for boys and girls ages seven and up.


A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Kids, written in rhyming couplets is suitable for staging as class plays as well as reading aloud.


 



Aesop’s Fable-ous Christmas Tree

Aesop’s Fable-ous Christmas Tree by Michael Gravois


Aesop’s fables are given a festive spin …


There’s a mash-up of The Twelve Days of Christmas and The Tortoise and the Hare, where the six birds of Christmas compete in a comical race — with the turtle dove winning, of course. And a tiny snow mouse teaches the abominable snowman that little friends may prove great friends. Ebenezer Scrooge realizes that wealth unused might as well not exist. Santa’s elves dream of a life outside the workshop as they sing a “patter poem” about their ideal careers. And even though the eight reindeer panic when Rudolph gets a cold in the nose, they learn that necessity is the mother of invention


These dozen vignettes illuminate important life lessons by re-inventing the classic fables, blending humor, rhythmic elements, rapping, puppetry, poetry, song and storytelling to create a fast-paced, fun-filled show that’s filled with Christmas spirit.


8 to 50 gender-neutral roles


Single set – runs about 60 mins


Stageplays.com


Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: A Musical

Adapted by Judith Viorst from her book of the same name


He could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. He went to sleep with gum in his mouth and woke up with gum in his hair. When he got out of bed, he tripped over his skateboard and by mistake dropped his sweater in the sink while the water was running. He could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Nothing at all was right. Everything went wrong, right down to lima beans for supper and kissing on TV. What do you do on a day like that? Well, you may think about going to Australia. You may also be glad to find that some days are like that for other people too.


In this delightful adaptation of her popular children’s book, with musical score was composed by Shelly Markham, Judith Viorst sets Alexander’s rather trying life to music and brings to the stage one of America’s feistiest characters.


Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland adapted by William Glennon  from the book by Lewis Carroll


This new version for stage is so close to the original in intention and feeling that you might suspect that Carroll himself had written it! And yet, it includes many unusual and imaginative staging devices.


A group of performers seeks out Alice in order to provide “her turn” in Wonderland. And, as her adventure unfolds, they play the many characters she encounters and grows to love.


Area staging – cast of 8 to 13 characters


Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Simon Reade from Lewis Caroll


When Alice falls down a mysterious rabbit hole she stumbles upon a magical fantasy world where anything can happen …


Take tea with the Mad Hatter, meet the White Rabbit, grin with the Cheshire Cat, and play croquet with the Queen of Hearts


But whatever you do …


… don’t lose your head!


Lewis Carroll’s classic characters spring to life in an enchanting show for the whole family, bursting with music, madness and mystery


Simon Reade’s adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s much-loved fantasy classic is a witty and brilliantly inventive re-working


6 Male, 2 Female


As She Likes It

As She Likes It


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Published by Dramatic Publishing


Large Mixed Cast

As She Likes It is an anthology of 8 short plays featuring famous and familiar women from Shakespeare’s canon

Women who have had muted voices in the Bard’s plays


But in As She Likes It they take center stage


Here, the female characters boldly step outside of the male-dominated context of their original works, sometimes into another time and place, where they discuss the choices they made and how they navigated the power structures that controlled their lives


The result is a unique full-length theatrical experience offering great roles for women


And also opportunities for thoughtful scene study, opening a larger conversation about how these women’s stories still resonate in our lives


The 8 short plays are …



  • The Shrew Must Go On ~ Lori M Myers

  • A Women’s Battle ~ Sean Adams

  • Another Conversation ~ Marjorie Bicknell

  • Beatriz … If You Speak of Love ~ David Nice

  • The Lear Sisters ~ Sue Lange

  • Dance

  • Haircuts ~ Barbara Trainin Blank

  • The Nurse’s Rebellion ~ Sandra Fenichel Asher


CAST

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Charley's Aunt - A Victorian Farce in Two Acts

by Paul Thain from Brandon Thomas


Published by Stageplays


6 Male 4 Female


“The World’s most popular Comedy”


Charley’s Aunt was a hugely popular vintage farce


It was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds in February 1892 and quickly transferred to London’s Globe Theatre where it broke the record for the world’s longest-running play, clocking up 1,466 performances


But although the central conceit is as theatrical and funny as ever, after more than a 120 years, its three-act structure and laboured humour urgently needed a make-over


And here it is!


“A chap in the bedroom? In need of hairpins?”


This New Version by Paul Thain retains all the fun of the original but re-works it for a modern audience, conflating the original three acts to two and enlivening the stale dialogue to give much needed pace and energy


“Tell her she’s pretty. They all like that. Even when they’re not. Especially when they’re not.”


And it’s still Royalty Free!


Provided you purchase a cast-size quantity of Paperback scripts (12+), as a gift to the theatre community, Paul Thain has waived his Royalties for all of 2021


It’s still set in an Oxford college in 1892 where Charles (Charley) Wykeham uses the imminent arrival of his aunt Donna Lucia as an opportunity to invite two young ladies to his rooms for lunch


“We need to impress, Brassett. A cheese and pickle sandwich will not do.”


But when her visit is postponed and they’re without a chaperone, rather than cancel the lunch party, Charley and Jack persuade their fellow student Lord Fancourt to impersonate the Aunt


Lord Fancourt relishes the opportunity and particularly enjoys being kissed by the girls and sharing their confidences


So much so, he stubbornly refuses to abandon his role


But then the real Donna Lucia turns up …


REVIEWS


“Really Funny” ~ Mobile Theatre


“Who doesn’t love a good farce?” ~ North West End UK


“We’re so excited to show it to people … the script is hilarious and so funny ~ Jimmy Walters, Proudhaddock Productions


AUDIENCE 1: Believe it or not, the Second Act is even funnier


AUDIENCE 2: Oh man, I’d better go to the bathroom then – the First Act already made me ’bout pee my pants!”


~ Intermission conversation, Stained Glass Theatre, Joplin, USA


Charlotte's Web (play)

Charlotte’s Web (play) adapted by Joseph Robinette from E.B. White’s classic novel.

This is the Play version of E.B. White’s beloved classic


The Children’s Literature Association named this “the best American children’s book of the past two hundred years,” and Joseph Robinette, working with the advice of E.B. White, has created a play that captures this work in a thrilling and utterly practical theatrical presentation


The costumes and unit set may be quite simple – it’s the story and relationships that make the show – or they may be as colorful and elaborate as you wish.


All the enchanting characters are here – Wilbur, the irresistible young pig who desperately wants to avoid the butcher; Fern, a girl who understands what animals say to each other; Templeton, the gluttonous rat who can occasionally be talked into a good deed; the Zuckerman family; the Arables; and, most of all, the extraordinary spider, Charlotte, who proves to be “a true friend and a good writer”


Determined to save Wilbur, Charlotte begins her campaign with the “miracle” of her web in which she writes, “Some pig.” It’s the beginning of a victorious campaign which ultimately ends with the now-safe Wilbur doing what is most important to Charlotte. This is a beautiful, knowing play about friendship that will give your actors a great opportunity and your audience an evening of enchantment. Unit set.


Charlotte’s Web - Musical Version

Charlotte’s Web – Musical Version by Joseph Robinette & Charles Strouse based on the classic novel by E.B. White.


This exciting, new musical version of Charlotte’s Web brings a new dimension to E.B. White’s beloved classic


With Music & Lyrics by Charles Strouse ( Annie & ‘Bye, ‘Bye Birdie) and Book by award-winning playwright Joseph Robinette your audiences will thrill to such numbers as Eating, Wilbur the Pig’s humorous yet poignant song about growing up; Who Says We Can’t Be Friends, an enchanting duet between Wilbur and his new-found companion Charlotte; Welcome to the Zuckerman Barn, featuring all the story’s unforgettable animals in a hand-clapping, toe-tapping hoe-down; and Summer, a haunting, nostalgic chorus number which evokes a time and place from everyone’s childhood


Cinderella and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Re-Imagined & Re-Twisted

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Published by Oberon


Large Mixed Cast


This BARGAIN BUNDLE offers two acclaimed plays for young people:


THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ – Re-Imagined & Re-Twisted

Large Mixed Cast

Caroline Bird from L Frank Baum


A cyclone sweeps a young girl and her cheeky little dog Toto far-far away from their grey, boring lives


She didn’t mean for her house to land on the Wicked Witch of the East


But here she is, in the Land of Oz, ready for an adventure


Along the yellow brick road to the Emerald City she meets plenty of new friends like Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion


And a few enemies


But in just one day, this little girl revolutionizes an entire nation


She brings freedom and colour


Her name is Dorothy


And she’d rather keep her trainers than wear Ruby slippers


Expect magic and mayhem in this brand new version of the classic children’s story for adventurers aged 7+ (and their families)


CINDERELLA – A Fairytale

3 Male, 2 Female

Sally Cookson & Adam Peck


Winner of a 2014 Off West End Award and Nominated for an Olivier Award


This stage version of Cinderella has captivated audiences with its dazzlingly original take on one of the oldest and best-loved fairytales of all times


When Ella’s mother dies, she’s brought up by her devoted and loving father who teaches her the names and calls of the woodland birds that surround their home


But when her father marries again, Ella’s peaceful life is turned upside down by a host of new and unpleasant relations


It appears her only allies are the feathered friends who roost in the trees


But these are no ordinary birds


With crystal-clear storytelling, this classic tale of fortunes reversed is brought startlingly and imaginatively to fresh life


This is a play to enchant all ages


REVIEWS


” … funny, heart-warming and beautiful piece of stage craft. This Cinderella is a treat” ~ Independent


“This non-panto fairy-tale is so bewitching that you’d gladly watch it in a heat wave … A modern classic that ends with a kiss, an embrace, and a puff on an inhaler … low on syrup and full of magic” ~ The Times


Buy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...” … a real classic, an exquisite Cinderella for all seasons that gets right to the heart of the story and offers its own delicious and surprising twists … This is not just a great Christmas show, but a great night for all times and ages” ~ Lyn Gardner, Guardian


Frankenstein (Oxford playscripts)

Frankenstein adapted by Phillip Pullman from the novel by Mary Shelley


An engaging classroom playscript. Frankenstein is the famous story of a young man who thinks he can change the world by making better human beings. Instead he creates a living monster with a mind of its own. New, innovative activities specifically tailored to support the KS3 Framework for Teaching English and help students to fulfil the Framework objectives. Activities include work on Speaking and Listening, close text analysis, and the structure of playscripts, and act as a springboard for personal writing.




Hamlet For Kids

Hamlet For Kids adapted by Lois Burdett


Perhaps the best-known of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Hamlet has all the ingredients for a gripping story: revenge and power, familial love and betrayal, dramatic sword fights, dark spooky scenes. Once again Lois Burdett has woven her own brand of magic by transforming Shakespeare’s complex verse into rhyming couplets. She has created a version of Hamlet especially for children, even as young as seven, and one that readers of all ages will enjoy.


At the appropriately named Hamlet Elementary School in Stratford, Ontario, where Burdett has taught for over 20 years, her students have created wonderful drawings of Hamlet to illustrate Burdett’s fluid rhymes. The students’ interpretations are vivid evidence of Burdett’s clever ability to bring Shakespeare’s complex characters and intricate plots to life for young people.



How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare

How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig and William Shakespeare


A foolproof, enormously fun method of teaching your children the classic works of William Shakespeare


William Shakespeare’s plays are among the great bedrocks of Western civilization and contain the finest writing of the past 450 years. Many of the best novels, plays, poetry, and films in the English language produced since Shakespeare’s death in 1616—from Jane Austen to The Godfather—are heavily influenced by Shakespeare’s stories, characters, language, and themes. In a sense, his works are a kind of Bible for the modern world, bringing us together intellectually and spiritually. Hamlet, Juliet, Macbeth, Ophelia, and a vast array of other singular Shakespearean characters have become the archetypes of our consciousness. To know some Shakespeare provides a head start in life. In How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, acclaimed playwright Ken Ludwig provides the tools you need to instill an understanding, and a love, of Shakespeare’s works in your children, and to have fun together along the way.


Ken Ludwig devised his methods while teaching his own children, and his approach is friendly and easy to master. Beginning with memorizing short specific passages from Shakespeare’s plays, this method then instills children with cultural references they will utilize for years to come. Ludwig’s approach includes understanding of the time period and implications of Shakespeare’s diction as well as the invaluable lessons behind his words and stories. Colorfully incorporating the history of Shakespearean theater and society, How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare guides readers on an informed and adventurous journey through the world in which the Bard wrote.


This book’s simple process allows anyone to impart to children the wisdom of plays like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. And there’s fun to be had along the way. Shakespeare novices and experts, and readers of all ages, will each find something delightfully irresistible in How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare.


Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack and the Beanstalk by Paul Kalburgi


Large mixed cast


The classic pantomime re-imagined!


Sing, shout, boo and cheer as our hero Jack journeys to the top of the beanstalk in search of his fortune and a better life for him and his sick mother


But Jack is not the only one seeking his fortune…


… his wicked Aunt Verruca and crazy new cousin Dame Dilly Dally are hot on his heels!


Meanwhile, on the eve of the Princess of Diamonds’ birthday party, the King of Spades has threatened the entire village of Lillyshaw with a demolition order if his precious golden items are not returned


Jack is guided on his adventure by good and bad fairies Virtue and Jeopardy, but when he finally reaches the top of the stalk things aren’t quite what … or who they seem!


Good wins over evil and he who dares to venture into this strange new world shall be rewarded with riches … and true love!


Complete with Pat the pantomime cow, Tom, Dick and Harry the three palace jesters


And of course, those magic beans!


TO READ THE OPENING SCENES, click here


Jack and the Giant Beanstalk

Jack and the Giant Beanstalk by Linda Daugherty


There is much more to this play than Jack and a Beanstalk.


Of course, there’s the proverbial giant, but there is also the giant’s overworked, over-wrought wife, an aria-singing harp, a golden-egg-laying chicken with performance anxiety, and a blue-eyed stranger who looks surprisingly like Jack’s long-lost father


Naturally, there’s the village at the foot of the Beanstalk and the giant’s home in the sky, but there is also, 10 years earlier, a sailing ship caught in a storm off the coast of Pago Pago (“or was it Bora Bora”) with its blue-eyed master pulled mysteriously from the wreckage by a giant hand


Certainly, there’s Jack’s distressed mother and the peddler who sells Jack the magic beans, but there is also the peddler’s story of having bought the beans from a blue-eyed stranger; the Ladies Plum and Pomegranate, who provide the comic relief in Jack’s village; and Jack’s pals, including a rough and ready tomboy named Adelaid


With all the familiar ingredients in the mix, plus so much more, and with fresh and witty dialogue, this will be a re-discovered delight for actors and audiences alike


Runs about 65 minutes – 4 male, 5 female


Little Red Riding Hood - Grandmother's Tale

by Max Bush


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Large Mixed Cast

This version is based on the oral tale The Grandmother’s Tale (pre-1690) & Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault (1697) and Little Red Cap by the Brothers Grimm (1812)

Long before Perrault wrote down his moralistic version of Little Red Riding Hood the story The Grandmother’s Tale was told and retold across Europe


Perrault altered the story by making Little Red younger and putting a red cape on her, thus alerting the world that this was a child at risk


And by having the wolf – a Werewolf in the oral tale – gobble up Little Red, Perrault’s alterations violently changed the meaning and intent of the tale


In the original story, a mother sends a girl of indeterminate age into the deep forest to bring a basket of food to the girl’s grandmother


She encounters a wolf, who is pleasing to her, and she imparts the information about where she is going and what path she is taking


The wolf arrives first and pretends to be Granny by getting into bed


When the girl arrives, she recognizes the wolf and matches wits with him


This adaptation incorporates elements from all three versions but is primarily based on The Grandmother’s Tale, the closest version of the oral story.


It is told with a direct focus on the overall meanings of the original tale as well as with a sense of mystery, play and humour


Buy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...CAST M6,F7 (flexible)


Runs about 55 minutes


Macbeth

Macbeth by William Shakespeare adapted by Carl Heap


This version of Macbeth, adapted and abridged by director Carl Heap, preserves the core of Shakespeare’s plot, retains the original language, yet is presented very much with the target age group in mind


And Carl Heap’s inspiring introduction will help readers, teachers, and practitioners to imagine, produce, and stage their own version.


MacBeth For Kids

MacBeth for Kids – adapted by Lois Burdett


“Who is William Shakespeare?” For more than 20 years, Lois Burdett has asked that question of her elementary school students in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, leading them on a voyage of discovery that brings the Bard to life for boys and girls ages seven and up.


Macbeth for Kids, written in rhyming couplets is suitable for staging as class plays as well as reading aloud.


From the author: “Most students will be exposed to the works of Shakespeare, typically in high school. The language and content of the plays is seen as too difficult for younger children but primary children are underestimated as to what they can accomplish given the challenge. The study of Shakespeare has become an integral part of my grade two program at Hamlet School, in Stratford, Ontario, Canada.


When I first moved to Stratford, I had no intention of teaching Shakespeare to 7 and 8 year olds. Stratford is a beautiful city noted for its Shakespearean theatre and I was interested that the schools were all named after Shakespearean characters. I asked my class, “Who is William Shakespeare?” and “Why is our school called Hamlet?” Their answers were surprising. One thought he was a famous boxer. Another believed he was the President of Canada. A third student responded, “I don’t know who William Shakespeare is. I don’t know any of the big kids.” It was the children’s enthusiasm and excitement on making the connection between an historical figure and the name of their school, which led me to continue. Thirty years later I can’t imagine teaching anywhere in the world and not introducing Shakespeare. The study provided tremendous growth, particularly in the area of language and communication and evolved into a learning experience of a lifetime. I have endeavored in my books and workshops for teachers to share the excitement of exploring with children, the timeless emotions and ideas of Shakespeare.”



Much Ado About Nothing for Kids

Much Ado About Nothing for Kids adapted by Lois Burdett


“What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living?” These famous lines from Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing delightfully show the verbal sparring between the reluctant lovers, Beatrice and Benedick who are happily brought together at the end by the schemes of their friends. And, no story is complete without at least one evil character, Don John, who unsuccessfully tries to tear apart the wedding plans of Hero and Claudio, the other lovers in this sparkling tale.


Written in rhyming couplets, Much Ado About Nothing, the eighth book in this successful series, captures all the exciting elements of the original story, and is truly a delightful read for both adult and child.


Lois Burdett has been a teacher at Hamlet Public School in Stratford, Ontario, for over twenty years and her expertise in bringing Shakespeare to life for children as young as seven is reflected in the children’s clever insights and wonderful drawings which complement the play.


Her success has resulted in an ever-increasing demand for workshops as far afield as Europe and Australia where she instructs educators on how they too can familiarize young children with Shakespeare.


From the Foreword by Denzel Washington


“[Lois Burdett’s] delightfully entertaining text is complemented by her students’ thoughtful interpretations and charming artwork which make Much Ado About Nothing come alive in a whole new way.”


 



Oakshot Complete Works of William Shakespeare

Buy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...The complete works of William Shakespeare in Kindle format, free to download and use.


The ebook is specifically formatted for kindle devices and tested with all Kindle 5 way navigation functions and Kindle table of contents button. Ebook comes with main table of contents and interlinked sub table of contents.


Supplemental prose materials (biographies, criticisms) now contain paragraph indentation on all works. Apart from two works which contain line spacing instead. However all works now clearly distinguish paragraphs to make it easier for the user to read.


•Each play Illustrated with Illustrations unique to this release, over 350 Illustrations in total.

•Biography and literary critique includes annotated inline footnotes.


The Plays.

The Comedies of William Shakespeare.

•All’s Well That Ends Well. (Illustrated)

•As You Like It. (Illustrated)

•Comedy of Errors. (Illustrated)

•Cymbeline. (Illustrated)

•Love’s Labour’s Lost. (Illustrated)

•Measure for Measure. (Illustrated)

•Merchant of Venice. (Illustrated)

•Merry Wives of Windsor. (Illustrated)

•Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Illustrated)

•Much Ado about Nothing. (Illustrated)

•Taming of the Shrew. (Illustrated)

•Tempest. (Illustrated)

•Troilus and Cressida. (Illustrated)

•Twelfth Night. (Illustrated)

•Two Gentlemen of Verona. (Illustrated)

•Winter’s Tale. (Illustrated)


The Histories of William Shakespeare.

•Henry IV, Part 1. (Illustrated)

•Henry IV, Part 2. (Illustrated)

•Henry V. (Illustrated)

•Henry VI, Part 1. (Illustrated)

•Henry VI, Part 2. (Illustrated)

•Henry VI, Part 3. (Illustrated)

•Henry VIII. (Illustrated)

•King John. (Illustrated)

•Pericles. (Illustrated)

•Richard II. (Illustrated)

•Richard III. (Illustrated)


The Tragedies of William Shakespeare.

•Antony and Cleopatra. (Illustrated)

•Coriolanus. (Illustrated)

•Hamlet. (Illustrated)

•Julius Caesar. (Illustrated)

•King Lear. (Illustrated)

•Macbeth. (Illustrated)

•Othello. (Illustrated)

•Romeo and Juliet. (Illustrated)

•Timon of Athens. (Illustrated)

•Titus Andronicus. (Illustrated)


The Sonnets of William Shakespeare.


The Poems of William Shakespeare.


The Biographies of William Shakespeare.

•Some Account Of The Life Of Mr. William Shakespeare By Nicholas Rowe.

•Shakespeare His Life, Art, And Characters By Henry Norman Hudson.

•The People For Whom Shakespeare Wrote By Charles Dudley Warner.

•Life Of William Shakespeare By Sir Sidney Lee.

•Shakespeare’s Family By Mrs. C. C. Stopes. (Inline Footnotes)

•The Man Shakespeare and His Tragic Life Story by Frank Harris.

•Shakespearean Playhouses: A History Of English Theatres Joseph Quincy Adams, Jr. (Illustrated / Inline Footnotes)


The Critical Works of William Shakespeare.

•Notes To Comedies By Samuel Johnson.

•Notes To Tragedies By Samuel Johnson.

•A Study Of Shakespeare By Algernon Charles Swinburne.

•Preface To Shakespeare And Notes On Plays By Samuel Johnson.

•Eighteenth Century Essays On Shakespeare By D. Nichol.

•Shakespeare’s Attitude Toward The Working Classes By Ernest Crosby.

•Shakespearean Tragedy by A. C. Bradley. (Inline Footnotes)

•Leo Tolstoy on Shakespeare – A Critical Essay. (Inline Footnotes)

Buy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...•Shakespeare By Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

•Characters of Shakespeare’s Plays by William Hazlitt.


Papa Panov's Magic Christmas

Buy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...by Paul Thain from Leo Tolstoy


Published by Samuel French Ltd


Large Mixed Cast

Papa Panov is an old shoemaker, now almost too blind to thread a needle


On Christmas Eve he has a dream that Jesus will visit him on Christmas Day


Eager and anxious, he waits all day


But his only visitors are a tramp, a roadsweeper, and a pauper woman with her cold and hungry baby


Despite his disappointment and fading hope, Papa Panov gives them his coat, his money, his soup


And even the tiny shoes he was saving as a present for Baby Jesus


Night falls and his special visitor still hasn’t arrived


Papa Panov thinks himself a silly, old fool


But then he has another dream …


A dream which convinces him his special visitor did come after all


Adapted from a short story by Leo Tolstoy, Papa Panov’s Magic Christmas makes a perfect play for Christmas


Buy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...It can involve any number of children and it runs about 25 minutes


Papa Panov's Magic Christmas - PDF

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Published by Cyberpress


Large Mixed Cast

Papa Panov is an old shoemaker, now almost too blind to thread a needle


On Christmas Eve he has a dream that Jesus will visit him on Christmas Day


Eager and anxious, he waits all day


But his only visitors are a tramp, a road sweeper, and a pauper woman with her cold and hungry baby


Despite his disappointment and fading hope, Papa Panov gives them his coat, his money, his soup


And even the tiny shoes he was saving as a present for Baby Jesus


Night falls and his special visitor still hasn’t arrived


Papa Panov thinks himself a silly, old fool


But then he has another dream …


A dream which convinces him his special visitor did come after all


Adapted from a short story by Leo Tolstoy, Papa Panov’s Magic Christmas makes a perfect play for Christmas


Buy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...It can involve any number of children and it runs about 25 minutes


Plays for Young Audiences

by Max BushBuy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...


Published by Meriwether Press


Large Mixed Cast



Winner of the AATE Charlotte B. Chorpenning Playwright Award for a nationally significant body of work for young audiences


Many consider Max Bush to be the fountainhead of the renaissance in playwriting for young audiences


His sensitivity to current themes and the modern idiom infuses a contemporary appeal into all of his works


The ten full-length plays in this Collection are adaptations of classics, heroic fantasy adventures, and dramas


They’ve all been successfully produced by community, educational, and professional theatre companies, and many of them are recipients of prestigious regional and national awards


As well as Bush’s internationally acclaimed The Emerald Circle, the Anthology includes:


Ghost of the River House


Hansel and Gretel – The Little Brother and the Little Sister


The Emerald Circle


Puss in Boots


13 Bells of Boglewood


The Crystal


The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers


Rockway Cafe


Rapunzel


Voyage of the Dragonfly


Second edition (revised) – 365 pagesBuy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...


Edited Roger Ellis, Professor of Theatre at Grand Valley State University



Robin Hood and the Raven’s Revenge by John Chambers

Robin Hood and the Raven’s Revenge by John Chambers


Comedy/ 9 characters, 5 Men, 4 Women (double/extra casting if desired)/ Full Length, Two Acts


Synopsis: Written for a family audience, with plenty of humour and some added twists to the traditional story. It intertwines the favourite elements of the Robin Hood legend with less known myths, such as the witch Mother Maudlin and an evil Raven and equates Robin with the English folk-lore figure, The Green Man.


John has written three epics for Lancaster Dukes Promenade Seasons – Tales of King Arthur, Jungle Book and The Three Musketeers, and several pieces for/with young people at Manchester Youth Theatre and M6 where he was also Resident Writer.


 


Romeo and Juliet Class Pack: Oxford School Shakespeare [Paperback]

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare – Classroom teaching pack






A pack containing: * 15 copies of the OSS edition of Romeo and Juliet * 15 Romeo and Juliet Reading Guides to support KS3 students in their study of the text OSS Romeo and Juliet * Full accessible notes ideal for students * Additional information and reading lists * A range of llustrations, both decorative and explanatory * A school edition that is both accessible and academically rigorous * OSS range also includes Romeo and Juliet Reading Guide and OxBox to support study of the text OSS Romeo and Juliet Reading Guides * Provide essential background material for students * A reusable booklet with magazine-style feel to engage students * A useful ‘way in’ to various aspects of the play * A flexible resource that can be used throughout the study of the play Oxford School Shakespeare * A school Shakespeare series that is both accessible and academically rigorous * Range also includes Romeo and Juliet OxBox CD-ROM













Romeo and Juliet for Kids

Romeo and Juliet for Kids adapted by Lois Burdett


“Who is William Shakespeare?” For more than 20 years, Lois Burdett has asked that question of her elementary school students in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, leading them on a voyage of discovery that brings the Bard to life for boys and girls ages seven and up.


Romeo and Juliet for Kids, written in rhyming couplets is suitable for staging as class plays as well as reading aloud.


 



Shakespeare with Children: Six Scripts For Young Players

Shakespeare with Children: Six Scripts For Young Players by Elizabeth Weinstein


Does your class or children’s group need a jump start in producing thrilling, engrossing, lively theater?


Joy, greed, love, fear, and gluttony are just a few of the elements woven into Shakespeare’s plays; these timeless topics provide endless fascination for children of any age.


In Shakespeare with Children: Six Scripts for Young Players, Elizabeth Weinstein retains the beauty of Shakespeare s original language and the sheer fun of acting onstage, while substantially shortening and adapting six plays for children ages eight to thirteen.


These forty-minute scripts come with an arsenal of practical suggestions for simple productions. Teachers (and parents) will find ideas for easy back-of-the-closet costume pieces, as well as for sets, props, and music. Historical and literary background is also provided.


Contents:

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Why Perform Classroom Plays?

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Macbeth

King Henry IV, Part I

Twelfth Night

Romeo and Juliet

The Tempest

Appendix A. About Shakespeare

Appendix B. Bibliography

Appendix C. Sample Letter Home


Weinstein has created an amazing resource for teachers who want to introduce their own students to the richness and wonder of the Bard. Her beautifully adapted texts are especially well served by the wonderfully useful suggestions for staging and music. Hurray for Shakespeare with Children! –Bruce Coville, Author of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (and other Shakespeare picture books), My Teacher Is an Alien, Song of the Wanderer, and many other books for children.


As a fifth-grade teacher, I am thrilled that I can use this wonderful resource to introduce my students to the beautiful language, marvelous characters, intriguing plots, and fascinating history in Shakespeare’s plays. The adaptations in this well-chosen collection lend themselves beautifully to cross-curricular connections among social studies, reading, language arts, music, and art. It is hard to imagine a better way to hook young students on Shakespeare than by having them read and act in these delightful versions of the Bard’s work. –Elizabeth Ester, North Shore Country Day School, Winnetka, Illinois


Ms. Weinstein’s book is a must for every creative elementary classroom. She gives you all the tools you need to build a beautiful production of six different Shakespearean classics including comedy (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, The Tempest), tragedy (Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet), and history (King Henry IV, Part I). The book provides a detailed blueprint that includes a synopsis and ideas for music, props, backdrops, and costumes, as well as a hard-to-find pronunciation key for each character. A great gift for teachers that will benefit their students forever. –Ronald Bell, Artistic Director, Syracuse



The Brave Little Tailor

Buy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...by Brian Guehring from the Brothers Grimm


Published by Dramatic Publishing


Large Mixed Cast


A mischievous and silly Jester introduces the audience to a young tailor who has been looked down on his entire life because he is small


This meek village tailor is bullied by his boss, smothered by his mother, and harassed by his customers


He does, however, dream of fighting dragons


And during one vivid fantasy he manages to kill seven flies in one blow


This achievement is half-heard and half-understood and soon the rumours spreading around the village get exaggerated until the King hears of a tailor who can kill seven Giants in one blow!


The tailor is then brought before the King and his beautiful stepdaughter


Now the tailor must find his own true courage


Buy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...With the help of the Princess and the Jester he battles a rampaging unicorn, two troublesome giants, and a fierce dragon


Flexible staging, runs about 60 minutes


The City Mouse and the Country Mouse

The City Mouse and the Country Mouse from K I D S I N C O based on the classic tale by Aesop

The classic tale of two cousins, who live very different lives. They both explore life in the country and the city and each learns that things are not always as they first seem.

Cast of 3 required


The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book by Stuart Paterson, adapted from the book by Rudyard Kipling


Darker than the Disney classic, this is a Jungle Book red in tooth and claw. Packed with great songs and a snappy script, this show knows exactly what the kids want. The story begins with a little boy lost in the jungle. The evil Shere Khan, the tiger, stalks him but before he can kill him, Akela the wolf, and king of the jungle, protects the young boy and takes him in as his own. We follow Mowgli, the boy, as he grows in the wild, learning from his wise teachers, Balu and Bagheera, playing with the monkeys and trying to hide from Shere Khan. As Mowgli grows, he begins to wonder of his life with the men and following a large argument returns to his village where he is faced with yet more alienation and struggle. This is a heart-warming story,that shows the importance of friendship and trust within diversity.


 


The Railway Children

The Railway Children by Mike Kenny, adapted from the book by E. Nesbit


You don’t need a real train to stage this version of the much loved classic – though that’s what they had at Waterloo Station for a smash-hit production. The most powerful prop is the imagination of the audience, the most effective tool, the skill of the actors. This version of The Railway Children is eminently suitable for schools, youth theatres and drama groups – anywhere, in fact, where the cry of ‘Daddy! My Daddy!’ is likely to provoke a tear.



The Tempest for Kids

The Tempest for Kids adapted by Lois Burdett


The Tempest is an exciting tale of jealousy and betrayal, magic and romance, repentance and forgiveness, and has all the elements necessary to ignite a young child’s imagination and creative energy. By her use of rhyming couplets, Lois Burdett has once again succeeded in transforming Shakespeare’s complex verse into a format readily understood by children.


Children’s enthusiasm toward Burdett’s adapted Shakespeare is evident in the wonderful drawings and anecdotes created by her Grade 2 and 3 students at Hamlet Elementary School in Stratford, Ontario. Together with the five other books in the successful and beautifully produced Shakespeare Can Be Fun! series, The Tempest will delight teachers, parents and children.



The Wind in the Willows - junior play script

Buy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...The Wind in the Willows (junior play script) is a musical version of Kenneth Grahame’s classic riverside story of Rat, Mole, Badger and Toad.


Keeping faith with the original story, the musical contains 10 catchy and lyrical tunes of differing styles. The story is set in a narrative style with cameo scenes acted out. There are 14 main characters, plus many smaller parts and a chorus.


Runs about an hour and is suitable for Junior Schools (8-12)


Tom's Midnight Garden

Tom’s Midnight Garden: Play (Acting Edition)


This play is an adaptation of Philippa Pearce’s 1950s classic novel of a boy’s nightly voyage to a Victorian past. Quarantined in his Aunt’s and Uncle’s stuffy flat because his brother has measles, Tom is restless and bored.Tom's Midnight Garden - novel by Philippa Pearce


Intrigued by a Grandfather clock, religiously wound by the elderly owner of the house, Mrs. Bartholomew, Tom is startled one night to hear the clock strike thirteen! Slipping out of bed he goes to what in his time is a concrete backyard, only to discover a beautiful Victorian garden of the 1880s.


He meets the unhappy orphan, Hatty, who initially is the only person who can see him, and he visits her each night at the same hour, writing enthusiastically to his brother, Peter, about his adventures. But although Tom stays the same exuberant 10-year-old, Hatty grows into a young woman during these visits. Before the story can reach its outcome, Tom has to return to his parents, but the truth is revealed in a touching denouement.


The play was first presented by Unicorn Theatre at the Pleasance Theatre, London in 2000. The following year, the production toured the UK and played at the New Victory Theatre, New York, USA.


The Unicorn production won The Equity Award for Best Show for Children and Young People in the 2001 Theatre Management Association Awards.


Read a review of the 2010 touring production here.


Twelfth Night for Kids

Twelfth Night for Kids adapted by Lois Burdett


“Who is William Shakespeare?” For more than 20 years, Lois Burdett has asked that question of her elementary school students in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, leading them on a voyage of discovery that brings the Bard to life for boys and girls ages seven and up.


Twelfth Night for Kids, written in rhyming couplets is suitable for staging as class plays as well as reading aloud.




War Horse

Buy Now Green Button Png - Free Transparent PNG Download ...War Horse  adapted by Nick Stafford from the book by Michael Morpurgo


Winner Tony Award 2011 – Best Play


War Horse - novel by Michael MorpurgoAt the outbreak of the First World War, Joey, young Albert’s beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. Caught up in enemy fire, fate takes Joey on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man’s land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find and bring him home.


Nick Stafford’s stage adaptation of the celebrated novel by the Children’s Laureate (2003-5) Michael Morpurgo leads us on a gripping journey through history.


The Oxford Playscripts series offers exciting and skilful adaptations of a range of modern novels and includes:



  •  New, innovative activities specifically tailored for Key Stage 3 – 11-14 year old students

  • Activities include work on Speaking and Listening, close text analysis and the structure of playscripts, and act as a springboard for personal writing

  • Insights into the plays themselves by their popular authors and adapters

  • Advice on staging



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