Text and drawing by Hanna Vock
In contrast to „Tale of a Princess Whom Almost Everybody Considered Too Smart“ and „Hansel and Gretel“, the play „Little Red Riding Hood“ is much shorter and simpler and therefore suitable as an introduction to fairy tale play in the kindergarten.
Children can make their first theatre play experiences here. Particularly gifted children will be able to quickly grasp the scenario and put it into action.
Characters and props
The characters:
Little Red Riding Hood
Mother
Wolf
Grandmother
Huntsman
As there are only five roles to be played, the play is also good for small group work.
Props:
Scene 1:
Something to represent the home of Little Red Riding Hood’s family.
A basket filled with a bottle of wine wine and cake.
A curtain. This can be a large blanket or sheet held by children or adults.
Scene 2:
A bush.
Flowers, e.g. artificial flowers stuck in flower pots.
Scene 3:
Grandmother’s house.
Grandmother’s bed.
Glasses and bonnet.
Scene 4:
—
Scene 5:
A hiding place for Little Red Riding Hood and the grandmother while they are still in the wolf’s belly.
A large pair of scissors.
A heavy stone (pillow).
Something that represents the well…
The „script“ with role-texts and stage directions
To help the children understand the sequence of the five scenes, you can use the following picture:
Scene 1
Little Red Riding Hood is playing in front of the house. The mother comes out.
Mother: Little Red Riding Hood!
Little Red Riding Hood: Yes, mother?
Mother: Grandmother is ill. Bring her some wine and cake.
Little Red Riding Hood: Yes, I will.
Mother gives her the basket.
Mother: Be careful in the forest, don’t go astray and beware of the bad wolf!
Little Red Riding Hood goes off, they wave to each other.
Curtain.
Scene 2
Little Red Riding Hood walks through the forest. The wolf appears from behind a bush.
Wolf: Hello Little Red Riding Hood, what are you doing here in the forest?
Little Red Riding Hood: I’m going to Grandma’s to bring her some cake and wine.
Wolf: That’s very nice of you. -Where does your grandmother live?
Little Red Riding Hood: Deep in the forest, by the three fir trees.
Wolf: Why don’t you take her a nice bouquet of flowers?
Little Red Riding Hood: I’m not allowed to go off the path.
Wolf: But look how beautiful the flowers are! Your grandmother will be so pleased.
Little Red Riding Hood jumps to the flower meadow and picks flowers.
The wolf disappears behind the bush again.
Curtain.
Scene 3
Grandmother’s house, the wolf creeps towards it.
Wolf: Now I’ll eat the grandmother!
The wolf knocks.
Grandmother: Who is it?
Wolf (in a disguised voice): Little Red Riding Hood.
Grandmother: Oh beautiful, come in.
The wolf jumps to the bed and eats the grandmother.
She disappears into hiding.
He puts on the grandmother’s glasses and bonnet
and lies down in her bed.
Curtain.
Scene 4
Little Red Riding Hood comes to the grandmother’s house with a basket and a bouquet of flowers and knocks.
Wolf: Come in!
Little Red Riding Hood goes to the bed.
Little Red Riding Hood: Grandmother, why do you have such big eyes?
Wolf: So that I can see you better!
Little Red Riding Hood: Grandmother, why do you have such big ears?
Wolf: So that I can hear you better!
Little Red Riding Hood: Grandmother, why do you have such big hands?
Wolf: So that I can grab you better!
Little Red Riding Hood: Grandmother, why do you have such a big mouth?
Wolf: So that I can eat you better!
The wolf pounces on Little Red Riding Hood.
Little Red Riding Hood disappears into hiding.
Curtain.
Scene 5
The wolf lies in bed with his grandmother’s bonnet and glasses on
and is asleep and snoring loudly.
Little Red Riding Hood and the grandmother lie in hiding.
The huntsman comes to the house.
Huntsman: Well, who is that snoring? – The grandmother never snores so loudly!
He goes into the house and sees the wolf.
Hunter: Aha, the wolf! He must have eaten the grandmother. I want to free her.
He takes the scissors and cuts open the wolf’s belly.
Little Red Riding Hood jumps out, the grandmother follows. They
embrace.
The hunter stuffs a thick stone (a pillow) into the wolf’s stomach and sews it up again.
The wolf wakes up.
Wolf: O how thirsty I am. I want to drink at the well.
He creeps to the well and falls in.
Little Red Riding Hood, the grandmother and the huntsman join hands and call (or sing):
The wolf is dead, the wolf is dead, he can’t eat us anymore.
The mother joins in. Bow and curtain call.
See also:
„Tale of a Princess Whom Almost Everybody Considered Too Smart“ and „Hansel and Gretel“.
Deepening the content
Questions and answers for clever little children:
How old is the fairy tale? (Several hundred years.)
Do you also have a grandmother?
Do you know where she lives?
Could you visit her alone and bring her cake?
If no, why not?
Have you ever gone anywhere alone?
If yes, what did your parents warn you about? (About cars? About strangers?)
What do you think of a red cap? Do you have one? Would you wear one?
Little Red Riding Hood put on her little cap every day because she thought it was so pretty. Do you have a favourite piece of clothing?
Have you ever been to the forest? Would you dare to go into the forest alone?
Why does the mother send Little Red Riding Hood into the forest when the wolf is prowling around there? (The grandmother needed help, the mother had a lot of work and no time to go to the grandmother, she trusted Little Red Riding Hood to be careful and heed her warning).
You could incorporate questions like these into a quiz game or just use them to get into more in-depth conversations with the children.
And here are some old stamps from the German Federal Post Office. These little pictures could be used to let the children retell the fairy tale.
Date of publication in German: April 2017
Copyright © Hanna Vock, see imprint.