Overview

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The Grim Grey Ogres and the Butterfly Kids

The concept

There’s more to life than building grim grey walls around yourself.

This is a unique musical play inspired by nature, colour, music, and a diversity of surprising characters - a highly original performance piece for children that is very entertaining in itself and can also inspire a range of work across the school curriculum. With vibrant, melodic songs and music and a mix of high comedy and thought-provoking drama, this show will engage and entertain children and adults alike.

The play was created with and for five to eleven year olds (with the older children taking the lead roles). It is very much an ensemble piece – everyone can join in, with as many performers as you like. There are opportunities for singers, actors, dancers and musicians and rich opportunities for art and design. It is great fun to do and really gets performers and audiences thinking and feeling more about what life is all about. The play is about 1 hour 10 minutes in length.

The Practicalities

The show can be performed anywhere, but works best on an open stage. There are no scene changes. Setting, costumes, props and lighting can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. All you need is a basic sound system/PA and a couple of microphones – the rest is up to you!

Musically, the piece is very flexible. It is performed to the accompanying soundtrack but has all the space you need for percussionists and instrumentalists to join in throughout. There are spaces created specifically for the most inspired players to ‘jam’ on their instruments together. We strongly encourage the use of homemade instruments, especially percussion, which really add to the spirit of the play.

The show stands on its own as a performance piece but is stronger still when integrated into the curriculum. Staging the play can give a creative focus and purpose to activities across many subjects including English, Maths, Science, Art, DT, Citizenship, Humanities and PE, as well as Drama and Music. Notes on ideas for the classroom are available with the script.

The Grim Grey Ogres and the Butterfly Kids is above all a show for the young performers to enjoy and own. The children that created the first performance invented a giant Ogre mascot and the idea of the Slug spraying the audience with water pistols. Feel free to change things, add ideas of your own and celebrate colour, music, diversity, optimism and imagination.