Pied Piper of Hamelin Assembly or Class Play

The Pied Piper of Hamelin Class Play or Assembly
This script, based on the poem by Robert Browning, has a cast of 30 and duration of around 20 minutes. It has a very welcome ‘twist’ of the tail (thinking rats, here) which will warm the hearts of everyone, especially animal-lovers. As one of the lines clearly states ‘No animals were harmed during the production of this play!’
Sample Text:
Mayor: They fought the dogs and killed the cats,
And bit the babies in the cradles,
Councillor 1: And ate the cheeses out of the vats,
And licked the soup from the cooks’ own ladles,
Councillor 2: Split open the kegs of salted sprats,
Made nests inside men’s Sunday hats,
Councillor 3: And even spoiled the women’s chats,
By drowning their speaking,
Mayor: With shrieking and squeaking
In fifty different sharps and flats.
(Everyone turns to the rats to see their reaction. Rats all stand with arms crossed, looking furious – and then all suddenly burst out laughing)
Mayor: What’s so funny?
Councillor 1: Yeah!
Councillor 2: I wouldn’t be laughing
Councillor 3: If I were in your shoes!
Rat 1: (Shaking his head) Where do you get all this stuff?
Rat 2: We weren’t the guilty ones!
Rat 3: OK so we might have nibbled at the odd piece of cheese
Rat 4: And maybe the odd sip of soup.
Rat 5: But fought with dogs?
Rat 6: Killed cats?
Rat 7: Bitten babies?
Rat 8: Drowned ladies speaking with shrieking and squeaking?
Rat 1: Are you serious?
Rat 2: Do we look like we could take on cats and dogs?
Rat 3: Or babies! Have you heard one screaming recently?
(All rats cover their ears)
Rat 4: Now that is a noise to deafen even the chattiest of ladies!
Rat 5: You paint a totally false picture of us rats.
Narrator: But you do come with something of a reputation!
Rat 6: Oh, you mean that Bubonic Plague thing?
Narrator: Well, yes. That did wipe out a rather large percentage of the human race!
Mayor: (Triumphantly) There you go!
Rat 7: But it taught you lot to keep cleaner afterwards!
Rat 8: Clear up your own rubbish!
Rat 1: Shame they didn’t clear out some of the human variety!
Mayor: (Exploding) Pardon!
Narrator: (To Mayor) It has to be said, your townsfolk didn’t seem to think very highly of you!
Pied Piper: And with good reason! Let me pick up the story here.
(Narrator gestures for everyone else to return to their seats)
Pied Piper: You see, I’d heard that the town of Hamelin wanted to be rid of their rats!
(All rats jump up in indignation)
Pied Piper: (To rats) Sit down, gentlemen, please. I have other ‘rats’, if you’ll pardon the expression, to deal with!
(Pointing to Mayor and Councillors) This lot!
Other poems that writer Sue Russell has turned into plays have been:
The Listeners, The Highwayman, Smugglers’ Song and If – all available off TES.