The Piper

What happens in the show?

It was all about a town full of rubbish and there were rats there. They hid the rubbish in the wardrobe. Then the bear put all the rats in the river but the mayor was very cheeky and didn’t give the bear what she asked for.  

Describe the show in five words

A party with a bear.

Who was your favourite character and why? 

I liked the bear because she was the hero but I also liked the kids who volunteered to be part of the show. They did really well at acting even though they weren’t actors. 

Were there any characters you didn’t like? 

I liked all of them.

What did you like most about the show? 

I liked that it was quite unusual and there were no princesses or anything like that. You don’t often get shows about rubbish. The costume for the bear was really good, it was old paper and material and stuff and it made the bear look all fluffy. I liked the rat puppet too because he ate lots of rubbish and turned big. There were lots of nice, colourful things to look at and the party in the mountain seemed fun. 

What didn’t you like about the show?

There could have been less of the lady talking over the top and more of people talking on stage. 

What did you think of the songs? 

The music bits were nice but they didn’t make much difference to the show.

How did the show compare to the book?

I hadn’t heard of The Pied Piper of Hamelin before and I don’t think I’d bother finding out more about it. This was enough.  

Would you tell your friends to come and see the show? 

Yeah, I think everyone in my class would like it. 

What did your grown-up think of the show?

It was well meaning and there was no shortage of invention or variety in its staging but I would agree with Ruby that it probably relied too heavily on the unseen narrator to tell the actual story.