If by Rudyard Kipling Assembly or Class Play

If by Rudyard Kipling Assembly or Class Play
Cast of 30 - easily adaptable up or down.
Duration - around 10 minutes not including music suggestions.
Unlikely as this may seem but this classic poem by Rudyard Kipling manages to bring together 20 readers and 8 rappers - along with one somewhat incredulous Narrator and poet!
This assembly includes both original material and ... well, who can argue that the rappers aren't themselves a pretty original lot - to say nothing of the material they produce!
If the language of the original If seems a little dated now, take heart from what can still be gleaned from it, in the right enthusiastic hands!
Sample Text
Rapper 4: So I think it’s fair to say
Rapper 5: It’s all a bit iffy!
(All rappers laugh)
Narrator: Now, now people! A little respect for our great poet here, if you please!
Rapper 6: Oh! Absolutely no disrespect intended, bro!
Rapper 7: No, we were just making the point that none of what we are about to say is a given!
Narrator: Pardon?
Rapper 8: It’s all about making your own choices.
Rapper 1: Nobody can make you good!
Rapper 2: That has to come from you!
Rapper 3: And that’s not always easy!
Rapper 4: Take that first couple of lines
(Narrator points to Reader 1)
Reader 1: If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you
Rapper 4: Sound familiar?
Rapper 5: In this crazy world where everything has to be ‘now’, how many people do you know who can stay calm under pressure?
Other poems converted into plays by Sue Russell:
• Smugglers Song – Rudyard Kipling
• The Highwayman – Alfred Noyes
Also available – a large collection of alternative Shakespeare and fairy tale scripts plus
• Take a Book – Different Genres of Writing Assembly
• Great British Writers Assembly. This short small cast assembly - 6 speakers (with adaptations for whole class) focuses on the writers *Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, A.A. Milne, Lewis Carroll and J.K. Rowling and their books.
• Roald Dahl Assembly