Pigs, Puppets & Colla-boar-ation
What a month! The Bank of Dreams & Nightmares’ collaboration with Stuff and Nonsense theatre company was something of a meeting of crazy minds, and SERIOUSLY fun! We jointly facilitated a series of workshops - three sessions each with three schools from Bridport, Poole, and Plymouth. The subject matter? The classic tale of The Three Little Pigs, approached from a very different angle. This marked the start of the creative process for Stuff and Nonsense to create a brand new theatre production of the classic tale, complete with puppets.
We unpacked small sections of the story with Year 4 pupils from Bridport St Mary’s, Oakdale Primary in Poole, and Woodlands in Plymouth. We asked the children if they thought mummy pig told the truth about why she asked her children to leave (because she couldn't provide for them). Most children thought she was fibbing, and it would be more likely she wanted them out because children “are really annoying.” (their words not ours!)
We explored sibling rivalry by playing the blame game, asking the children to write dialogues between the three pigs, bickering about whose fault it was they had been kicked out of home. They also wrote postcards home to mum to let them know how they were getting on out in the big wide world.
We talked about emotions and acted out scenes exploring body language and facial expressions, as well as making paper puppets to demonstrate the difference of this medium.
The pupils wrote motivational speeches to try to give the pigs a boost when they were feeling sad, lonely, and helpless. The Stuff and Nonsense team performed these with some stick puppet pigs. It was pretty mesmerising and the children loved it.
They also wrote Kennings about the wolf: two-word riddles that use metaphor to describe something without actually naming it, but instead listing the things it does.
From these workshops, Stuff and Nonsense will move on to research and development of the new show, with some of the children from the three schools staying onboard to have a part in creating the magic. Stay tuned to this blog for updates on this exciting collaboration.
The Three Little Pigs will premiere at the Poole’s Lighthouse Theatre in December 2023, before a national tour culminating in a run at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth. And then who knows where? With creative director Niki McCretton at the helm, alongside actor and acrobat Jenny Harrold, and with writing input by Anna Murphy, this will be The Three Little Pigs as it’s never been seen before.