The Troll – the play
Based on the children’s book: The Troll by Julia Donaldson
Learning Objectives:
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To learn to speak English by practicing and preforming a play
To learn to pronounce words correctly in English
To learn English intonation
To use mimic and body language to support what’s being said
To learn vocabulary to do with drama e.g. setting, characters, lines, stage directions, narrator….
To work together in a group
And…. last but not least: to have fun!
SETTING:
Bridge - a table
Ship - a table put on the side
Palm tree – a drawing on the board
2 big rocks – two chairs covered in cloth
Treasure chest – a cardboard box
Plank – several pieces of paper taped together
9 Scenes
CHARACTERS:
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Troll
Spider
4 pirates: Hank Chief, Ben Buckle, Peg Polkadot, Percy
Patch
Mouse
Rabbit
The Play – ideas to how to organise it:
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Divide the class into 8 groups
Each group gets a SCENE (Scene 6 + 8 are short – can be combined)
Every student in the group gets a role
Make sure the students understand the text and know how to pronounce the words correctly
The students practice their lines carefully
Preform the play – and record on video if possible!
CFU UCC 2012
Lene Dyson
SCENE 1 - The Troll under the Bridge
CHARACTER
Who you are?
LINE
What you say!
Narrator 1
There was once a troll who lived under a bridge.
That’s where trolls are supposed to live
Hello! Here I am!
I live here under the bridge.
Meanwhile out at sea were some pirates. That’s
where pirates are supposed to live.
Hello! We are pirates and we live on a big ship.
Trolls eat goats as you know.
But this troll ate no goats. This troll ate fish
Because no goats ever came trip-trapping on
the bridge.
But one morning the troll heard a noise
WHO’S THAT TRIP-TRAPPING ON MY BRIDGE?
I’m not trip-trapping – I’m scuttling
Oh bother! I thought you were a goat
No! Goats have fur.
Never mind, I’ll eat you anyway.
Oh please don’t eat me! Why don’t you go down
to the next bridge? That bridge is much better
for goats.
Okay!
Troll
Narrator 2
Pirates
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Troll
Spider
Troll
Spider
Troll
spider
Troll
CFU UCC 2012
STAGE DIRECTIONS
What you do!
Troll waves from under the
bridge
Pirates wave from the ship
Troll eats a fish
Troll listens – hand behind ear
Troll jumps up and yells
Spider scuttles around
Troll looks disappointed
Troll packs his frying pan and his
cookbook and walks off.
Lene Dyson
SCENE 2 – The Pirates at Sea
CHARACTER
Who you are?
LINE
What you say!
STAGE DIRECTIONS
What you do!
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
All 4 pirates
Now back to the pirates
Pirates are supposed to dig for treasure
These pirates had a treasure map.
And on the treasure map was a rhyme
Between the palm tree and the rocks,
Six foot deep lies a treasure box.
The pirates sailed and sailed until the got to an
island.
This is the spot! Start digging!
Pirates look at a treasure map
Narrator 1
Pirate 1 – Hank
Chief
Pirate 2
Pirate 3
Pirate 4
Pirate 2
Pirate 3
Pirate 4
Pirate 2
Pirate 3
Pirate 4
Pirate 1
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
CFU UCC 2012
Okay Hank Chief! We’ll dig.
Oh it’s very hot!
Come on dig everybody!
There’s no treasure.
It must be the wrong island.
I’m hungry – let’s have some food
Okay! I’ll cook a fish pie
Yuk! It’s soggy!
Yuk! It’s slimy!
When we find the gold we can buy a decent
cookbook
Then the pirates finished their meal
And they went back on board of their ship
They set sail again
And the pirates sailed out to sea
Pirates get off ship and walk
Pirates dig and dig
Pirates stop digging
Pirates look disappointed
Pirate 2 starts cooking + give the
other pirates food
Pirates nod
Pirates go back to the ship
Lene Dyson
SCENE 3 – The Troll under the next Bridge
CHARACTER
Who you are?
LINE
What you say!
STAGE DIRECTIONS
What you do!
Narrator 1
The troll was sitting under his new bridge
reading his cookbook
Suddenly he heard a sound above his head.
WHO’S THAT TRIP-TRAPPING ON MY BRIDGE?
I’m not trip-trapping. I’m pattering. And I’m a
mouse
Oh bother! I thought you were a goat
No! Goats have longer ears
Never mind, I’ll eat you anyway. I’m getting sick
of fish.
Oh please don’t eat me. Why don’t you go down
to the next bridge? There are goats down there.
Very well, I’ll go down to the next bridge.
And the troll packs up his things and goes down
to the next bridge.
Troll reads in his cookbook
Narrator 2
Troll
Mouse
Troll
Mouse
Troll
Mouse
Troll
Narrator 1
CFU UCC 2012
Troll jumps up and yells
The mouse patters around
Troll looks disappointed
Troll packs up his things and
walks
Lene Dyson
SCENE 4 – The Pirates at an Island
CHARACTER
Who you are?
LINE
What you say!
STAGE DIRECTIONS
What you do!
Narrator 1
Meanwhile the pirates have discovered another
island
Once again the pirates start digging
This is the spot! Start digging!
Pirates look out from the ship and
get off the ship
Okay Hank Chief! We’ll dig.
Oh it’s very hot!
Come on dig everybody!
There’s no treasure.
It must be the wrong island.
I’m hungry – let’s have some food
Okay! I’ll cook a fish soup
Pirates start digging
Pirates dig and dig
Narrator 2
Pirate 1 – Hank
Chief
Pirate 2
Pirate 3
Pirate 4
Pirate 2
Pirate 3
Pirate 4
Pirate 2
Pirate 3
Pirate 4
Pirate 1 – Hank
Chief
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
CFU UCC 2012
Yuk! It’s bony
Yuk! It’s briny
If only we could find the gold, we could pay for a
proper cook
Then the pirates finished their meal
And they went back on board of their ship
And they set sail again
And the pirates sailed out to sea
Pirates stop digging
Pirates look disappointed
Pirate 2 starts cooking + give the
other pirates food
Pirates nod
Pirates go back to the ship
Lene Dyson
SCENE 5 – The Troll under the next Bridge
CHARACTER
Who you are?
LINE
What you say!
Narrator 1
Troll
Rabbit
Narrator 1
The troll was frying fish under his new, big
bridge.
Suddenly he heard a sound
WHO’S THAT TRIP-TRAPPING ON MY BRIDGE?
I’m not trip-trapping, I’m lolloping. And I’m a
rabbit.
Oh bother! I thought you were a goat
No! Goats have hoofs
Never mind, I’ll eat you anyway. Anything better
than fish.
Oh please don’t eat me!
Why not?
Why don’t you walk down to the next bridge?
There are lots of goats down there.
Are you sure?
Yes, I’m sure!
Once again the troll packed up his things.
Narrator 2
And he moved down to the next bridge
Narrator 2
Troll
Rabbit
Troll
Rabbit
Troll
Rabbit
Troll
Rabbit
CFU UCC 2012
STAGE DIRECTIONS
What you do!
Troll jumps up and yells
Troll looks disappointed
Troll takes hold of rabbit
Rabbit looks very scared
Troll packs up his things and
walks
Lene Dyson
SCENE 6 – The Pirates digging on the next Island
CHARACTER
Who you are?
LINE
What you say!
STAGE DIRECTIONS
What you do!
Narrator 1
Meanwhile the pirates were digging on a new
island.
They dug and they dug but all the found was an
old boot
We’ll never find the right island
I’m hungry
Okay, I’ll cook some fishcakes
Pirates are digging
Narrator 2
Pirate 2
Pirate 3
Pirate 4
Pirate 2
Pirate 3
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
CFU UCC 2012
Yuk! They are sticky!
Yuk! They are sandy!
Hank Chief said nothing. He was too busy being
sick over the side of the ship.
The pirates were not very happy.
Pirates find a boot and hold it up
Pirates shake their heads
Pirate 3 gives the other pirates
food
Hank Chief is sick over the side of
the ship
Pirates look very unhappy
Lene Dyson
SCENE 7 – The Troll at a Sandy Beach
CHARACTER
Who you are?
LINE
What you say!
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
The troll’s river grew wider and wider
Then it stopped being a river and flowed into
the sea.
The troll found himself on a sandy beach.
Narrator 1
Troll
Narrator 2
Troll
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Troll
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Narrator 1
Troll
Narrator 2
Troll
Narrator 1
Troll
Narrator 2
CFU UCC 2012
There isn’t another bridge. The rabbit was
tricking me.
But then he spotted some hoof prints in the
sand
A goat at last! ……. But I can’t see any goat.
Never mind – it will probably come back
tomorrow.
The troll followed the hoof prints
The hoof prints led him to a spot between a tall
palm tree and two big rocks
I know! I’ll dig a pit. Then tomorrow the goat
will fall into it and I can eat it.
The troll dug and dug with his frying pan.
Just when he thought the hole was deep enough
the pan hit something hard.
It was a great big chest.
Perfect! I can hide in here and keep warm. Then
when the goat falls into the hole I’ll open the lid
and pop up.
He lifted the lid. The chest was full of round gold
things.
These are no use to me
Then he climbed down into the chest and lay
down.
Tomorrow I can have goat for breakfast instead
of fish.
And the troll fell asleep dreaming about a nice
juicy goat.
STAGE DIRECTIONS
What you do!
Troll comes walking in with his
things
Troll looks down and sees hoof
prints
Troll looks around
Troll walks around and looks
down
Troll starts digging with his frying
pan
Troll digs and digs
Troll lifts up the chest
Troll lifts the lid
Troll throws out the gold
Troll climbs into the chest and
lays down
Lene Dyson
SCENE 8 – In the Night at the Next Island
CHARACTER
Who you are?
LINE
What you say!
STAGE DIRECTIONS
What you do!
Narrator 1
It was dark when the pirates arrived at the next
island.
This is the spot!
Pirates come walking in
Pirate 2 – Hank
Chief
Pirate 2
Pirate 3
Pirate 4
Pirate 2
Pirate 1 – Hank
Chief
CFU UCC 2012
But someone has been digging here already!
Don’t say they’ve found the treasure before us!
No, look! Here it is!
It’s very heavy.
It must be full of gold. Quick! Back to the ship
before anyone stops us.
Hank Chief points at the spot
Pirates all look angry
Pirates try to lift the chest
Pirates pull the chest away
Lene Dyson
SCENE 9 – The Troll and the Pirates
CHARACTER
Who you are?
LINE
What you say!
STAGE DIRECTIONS
What you do!
Narrator 1
Troll
Narrator 2
The troll was woken by a loud bang.
That’s my breakfast!
But the troll couldn’t understand why the chest
was heaving and swaying and why the lid was
opening
-
LOUD BANG
Troll inside the chest
Pirate 1 – Hank
Chief
Troll
Pirate 2
Narrator 1
Pirate 1 – Hank
Chief
Troll
All 4 pirates
Narrator 2
Pirate 3
Where’s the gold.
I – I – threw it into the sea.
THE PLANK! THE PLANK! MAKE HIM WALK THE
PLANK!
The next second, the pirates were pushing the
troll on to the plank
WHO’S THAT TRIP-TRAPPING OVER MY PLANK?
I’m not trip-trapping. I’m shuffling. And I’m a
troll.
JUMP!
But just then, one of the pirates came running
up.
Wait! I’ve found something else inside the
chest! A cookbook and a frying pan.
Pirate 1 – Hank
Chief
Troll
All 4 pirates
Pirate 1 – Hank
Chief
Troll
Pirate 1 – Hank
Chief
Narrator 1
STOP! ….. Can you cook?
Narrator 2
The troll turned to his favourite page in his cook
book.
Shall I make us a nice goat stew?
GOAT? GOAT?
Pirates don’t eat goat! We want what pirates
are supposed to eat.
And what’s that?
FISH!
Troll
All 4 pirates
Pirate 4
Troll
EVERYBODY
SHOUTS
CFU UCC 2012
Pirates open the lid and look
down in the chest
Troll stammers and looks afraid
Troll walks on the plank and looks
very scared…
Troll gets to the end of the plank.
His knees are shaking…
Pirate 2 runs up…
Pirate 3 holds the cookbook in
one hand and the frying pan in
the other hand…
Hank Chief looks at the troll
Yes!
YES!
Then you can stay.
Thank you! When shall I start?
Now!
Troll walks back on the plank
The pirates showed the troll the ship’s kitchen.
Pirates show the troll the ship’s
kitchen
Troll looks in his cook book
Lene Dyson
CFU UCC 2012
Lene Dyson