PHILIP PULLMAN’S GRIMM TALES VISUAL STORY

This visual resource is for children and young adults visiting the Unicorn Theatre to see a performance of Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales.

This visual story is intended to help prepare you for a new experience and help you to become familiar with the surroundings and the performance.

This performance is fast paced, very high energy, very dark in theme and visibility throughout and contains numerous scenes with moderate threat and fantasy sequences. These sequences are frequent but not sustained.

There are some sequences where characters are in danger but these are not prolonged.

The performance has themes of witches, enchanted forest creatures, careless parents, fearless children, adventures, magic, gore, friendship, and bravery.

The show contains many moments that include flashing lights, and haze effects.

There is a scene of murder during the start of Act 2. A boy has his head trapped in a box and a pretend head is shown to the audience.

We have made the usual amendments to the volume and lighting levels in the auditorium but due to the nature of the show you will experience moments of startling lighting, costume changes and prop use with loud sound effects.

Sometimes the voices on stage get louder when they are pretending to be angry or upset. You might hear them echo around you. These are just recorded voices.

Act 1 is approximately 55 minutes The interval is approximately 20 minutes Act 2 is approximately 55 minutes

Welcome to the Unicorn Theatre. We are a theatre for children and adults. This is what the building looks like from the outside.

This is the main entrance of the theatre. There are some steps before you get to the front door. The words and pictures on the windows tell you what shows and activities are happening inside.

When you enter through the front door, you will see a big space with lots of tables and chairs in an area called the Foyer.

There are also some instructions on the floor tiles, you can choose to follow these instructions or you can ignore them.

The Box Office is also in the Foyer. This is where you can buy tickets or collect tickets that you have already paid for. There may be other adults and children waiting to buy or collect tickets when you arrive.

You will be met by one of the Ushers, who will be wearing a dark red shirt with white writing like the one above.

You can ask an usher if you have any questions and they will do their best to help you. When it’s time for Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales to start, you will hear a bell and an Usher will tell you where you need to go. Make your way to level 3 for the Stalls seats or level 4 for the Circle seats. You can use the steps or the lift.

You might see some adults and children sitting at some of the tables having something to eat or drink from our Unicornershop.

There is a cafe in the Foyer called the Unicornershop where you can buy drinks and snacks. You can also bring your own drinks and snacks with you.

If you need to use the Toilet, they are downstairs from the Foyer. Look for the stairs going down or you can use the Lift.

These are the boys’ toilets.

These are the girls’ toilets.

The actors in the show all play lots of characters. Here are some of the costumes you will see.

When you enter the Weston Theatre you will see a big open space with lots of toys on a messy bedroom floor. The stage looks like a child’s bedroom with a large wall and a window. The seats you can sit in are the purple bench seats. You can find your seats and make yourself comfortable. The usher can help you find your seat.

You will hear the sound of the music all around the space. You will hear background sound like this throughout the performance.

When the show begins the lights on the stage will change but the lights over your seats will stay on.

At the start of the show the children enter the bedroom in their pyjamas and Dad turns off the bedroom light to begin the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

During Little Red Riding Hood the Dad uses voices and a puppet to tell the story, the children also pretend to be some of the characters and dress up in the blankets from the room.

During the story the children scream at the mention of the wolf and the Grandma being eaten. This is loud but the children are okay.

The children have a pillow fight with dad and everyone runs around the bedroom.

Dad tries to get everyone to go to bed, it’s time for sleep.

The children want to keep reading from the magical book and the older brother enters to scare the younger children, he is wearing a wolf onesie as his pyjamas. He looks great!

The older brother takes the book and begins the next story.

The lighting and sound will change a lot when the different stories begin. You will hear sounds of thunder, forest animals and the lights will also change around the space.

Hans My Hedgehog

The children act out the story, they dress up in costumes they find around the bedroom and use musical instruments from the toy box.

During the story they, argue about which character to be and get a bit upset.

There is a fight about who will be the king and one of the young children is hurt and gets very upset. Don’t worry, they are just being silly.

During this tale all the children dance and they use the shelves and wardrobe to climb on and sit very high.

In the story of Hans My Hedgehog there is a battle scene and when the children act it out they throw toys around and the music is much louder.

There is also a journey and the children run around with much louder music and different lights.

The children all tell the story together and get very excited and loud.

You will see shadows on the bedroom wall like flames and the music will be much louder.

The children are being a bit naughty and the parents can hear them. The parents come into the bedroom and switch on the lights.

The children are told off for not being in bed and they are upset. The little girl tells the Dad she hates him. That isn’t very nice. She doesn’t really mean it.

The young boy sneaks out of the bedroom to get a present from the Christmas tree. He is being very naughty.

He picks the biggest present and takes it to the bedroom. They open the present and find a giant, beautiful gingerbread house.

They begin to tell the story of Hansel & Gretel and the costumed characters appear on the steps of the auditorium.

These are the same actors as the Family Mum & Dad; they are now acting out Hansel & Gretel.

The Mum is carrying a big axe and the Dad is a bit angry. Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you.

During the story, the children pretend to be Hansel & Gretel and they get upset that they are left alone in the forest. Don’t worry, they will be okay.

When the Gingerbread House begins to glow, you will hear a voice telling you that they have found a house made of cake.

The wardrobe in the bedroom will open and you will see a lady in a pink hat, she is the witch.

There will be some loud sound effects and lighting changes to show you she is a scary witch even though she is dressed in a pretty dress.

The young children should be scared of her but she feeds them cake and sends them to bed.

During the night the Witch puts a spell on Hansel and makes him climb into the cupboard, the cupboard is now a cage and he is trapped.

The young children and the witch tell you the story of Hansel and Gretel and move around the bedroom.

When the witch gets angry and wants to cook Hansel she starts the fire in the oven, you will see flames and smoke from behind the bedroom door.

Gretel tricks the Witch and pushes her in the oven and slams the door shut. You will hear loud screams from the Witch. Don’t worry, it’s only pretend (and the Witch is a baddie!).

Gretel rescues Hansel from the cage and they open the magical gingerbread house to find hundreds of sweets. They are very excited and finish the story of Hansel & Gretel with the magical book.

The parents come back into the bedroom and they are very upset that the children have taken a present from the tree and un-wrapped it.

The mum is very angry and starts to pull down the Christmas decorations and screams that Christmas is cancelled. She is very upset with the children for being naughty. Don’t worry, she will be okay later.

When the mum is angry there will be some more flashing lights and smoke and louder music.

When the mum is angry, everyone is upset and moves around the bedroom in slow-motion and confusion. The story world and the bedroom world are getting mixed together and some of the characters mix with the family.

A person in a wolf costume climbs out from under the bed and scares everybody. The audience around you might scream a lot at this. Don’t worry, the wolf isn’t real.

This scene is very loud and has flashing lights. You can cover your eyes or your ears if you need to.

You will hear a smashing sound effect and you will see the wall of the house is falling.

The wall falls down very slowly and you will see a forest of trees behind and lots of smoke.

There is a beautiful big moon and snow falling in the forest. The children are scared but excited, they want to see what is in the forest.

The older child runs into the forest and the younger children follow.

You will hear their voices echo through the space and the lighting will change.

The lights will now get much darker. This is the end of Act 1 and there will now be an interval for approximately 20 minutes.

During the interval the stage management team can be seen tidying the stage and taking some of the furniture away. The family Dad will also help by hoovering the stage.

The stage is now much bigger and flat, you can see lots more trees and stars. The back area of the stage is quite dark and creepy, don’t worry, it will be okay.

At the end of the interval and the start of Act 2 the lights on the stage and the forest will get much darker.

You will see one of the actors in a red cape; this is Little Red Riding Hood from the beginning of the show. You will hear forest noises and a wolf howl, you will hear noises like this thoroughout the rest of the show.

The next story is The Juniper Tree and this story contains the scene of murder by decapitation. You will see a young girl cry tears of blood and a Father eat a stew made of his son.

The back of the stage in the forest is where the characters will be shown before a black out. These scenes are frequent and fast. You will see some snow fall and some blossom petals drop.

When the step-mother is angry with the son she asks him to reach into the box to grab an apple and slams the lid shut.

There will be a black out and a loud noise, some of the audience might scream at this point.

You will see a brief scene of the sister holding the head after she has slapped her brother.

Don’t worry, the head is not real.

The sister is very upset and cries tears of blood. The Brother is now playing the Bird and will speak to all the characters using a small red bird to fly around.

The Mother is killed with a millstone but you do not see this, the bird tells you about it. There will be a loud scream when the Mother is killed. The lights will change and then there will be a black out.

The next story is A Thousand Furs.

During this story all the actors enter the stage via the auditorium steps. They might walk past you, but don’t worry; they are playing nice characters when they do.

In this story a King falls in love with his daughter after the Queen dies, the princess runs away and falls in love with another Queen. This story has a happy ending.

During the story there are 3 balls and all the actors dance around in masks and have fun. The lights will change and the music will be much louder.

During the 3rd ball you will see a giant mirror ball and it will make the auditorium look sparkly.

The Princess and the Queen get married and there is a party with confetti and smoke.

The next story is The Goose Girl.

This story has loud noisy instruments called Kazoos, they sound like Geese.

There is also a mask of an old lady that looks very real; but the person underneath is one of the young children.

When the story begins you will see an old lady and a Count in a red jacket.

The Count will wander through the forest taking selfies; you will see the camera flash.

The Count will walk closely to the front row when he is trying to carry the heavy bag for the old lady.

The young children will put big swimming flippers on their feet and carry pillows to look more like Geese.

The King and Queen will be in the forest at the back of the stage.

The old lady will take off her mask to wash her face in the river.

All the children and the parents are now back in the bedroom to finish the story form the magical book. The Mum who was angry is now giving everyone their Christmas stockings to show that everything is okay.

You will hear a rumble and the house will rise and be a wall again. The wall will come back slowly and the bedroom will be restored.

The whole family have a pillow fight and have fun. There will be feathers everywhere and the children will be playing the kazoos. There will be loud music and lots of movement and bright lights.

The lights will then get darker and you will see the magical book being closed.

This is the end of the show.

The stage will get darker. You can clap if you want to.

The actors will all smile and bow. You can clap if you want to.

This is the end of the show.

During the show you might find something funny, you can laugh if you like.

During the show you might see or hear something that makes you feel sad. You can feel sad if you like, that’s okay.

You might hear other people in the audience cheer, clap, shout out or scream. You can join in if you like.

During the show you might feel that you need to take some time out. If you do don’t worry about it, find an Usher and let them know. They will take you to the chill out space where you can relax and return to the show when you feel ready.