a comedy with words and
music by
Edward Lambert
with help from the pupils of
Vernham Dean GillumÕs
School, Hampshire
and
William Shakespeare
Featuring
by
John Frederick Lampe (1745)
1 Song:
Puck & Chorus of Scholars Over
hill, over dale
2 Intorduction
& Prayer: Villagers ItÕs
the year of Our Lord
3 Scene:
London Life There
are crowds of people
4 Chorus
& Dance of Fairies & Goblins (Oberon & Titania) Over
hill, over dale
5 Song:
Scholar (& Oberon) I
know a bank where the wild thyme blows
6 Lullaby:
Fairies & Goblins You
spotted snakes
7 Song
& Dance: Titania, Bottom & Four Fairies What
angel wakes me?
8 Chorus
of Villagers Have
you heard the news?
9 Hermia
& Chorus: Farewell, my
world
Act 2
10 Chorus:
Song & Dance Life
was good
11 Song:
Fairies & Goblins
12 Scene:
The Rainbow Bridge Come
with me
13 Chorus
of Players & Villagers Have
you heard the news?
14 Dumb show: The Seven Ages
of Man
15 Chorus:
What an astonishing turn of the tide!
16 Scene: Pyramus & Thisbe
17 Dance
18 Finale:
All Now
the hungry lion roars
Titania, Fairy Queen
Oberon, Goblin King
Puck, OberonÕs
servant
Four Fairies:
Peaseblossom
Mustardseed Cobweb Moth
Hermia, a Catholic
child
Lysanda, a
Protestant child, daughter to Zachariah
Nick Bottom,
an apprentice weaver; Pyramus in the interlude
Peter Quince,
an apprentice carpenter; Prologue in the interlude
Francis Flute,
an apprentice bellows-mender; Thisbe in the interlude
Tom Snout,
an apprentice tinker; Wall in the interlude
Snug,
an apprentice joiner; Lion in the interlude
Robin Starveling,
an apprentice tailor; Moonshine in the interlude
Brother Zachariah,
village priest and schoolmaster
Isabella
a strolling player, disguised as a man, wife of Zachariah
HermiaÕs guardian(s)
Scholars at GillumÕs School
as themselves and Village Children
Queen Elizabeth and Courtiers
Fairies & Goblins
A troupe of strolling
players
as themselves and
The Seven Ages of Man
Prologue - Infant -
Schoolboy - Lover - Soldier - Justice - Pantaloon - Childishness & Oblivion
The Dream That Hath No
Bottom
Act 1
Time: 1590Õs. It is a summer evening and the Scholars of GillumÕs
School are sleeping
no.1
PUCK
Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough briar,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire
-
I do wander everywhere
Swifter than the moonÕs sphere,
And I serve the Goblin King,
To pluck sweet tones that we
may sing.
SCHOLARS
Either we mistake your meaning
quite
or else you are that knavish
sprite
called Robin Goodfellow.
PUCK
Good friends, you speak
aright:
I am that merry wanderer of
the night.
Those that ÔHobgoblinÕ call me
And ÔSweet PuckÕ,
I do their work,
And they shall have good luck.
(The Scholars suddenly wake)
SCHOLARS (to one another)
LetÕs write a play.
What would it be about?
About us! About our own times!
What about Queen Elizabeth?
..weÕd have to be careful what we wrote.
..lots of interesting things like heads getting
chopped off...
Ideal for a school play!
ThereÕs the Armada!
Sounds exciting - we can have a battle!
With a load of ships? 130 of them!
Well, it was the event of the century, surely?
Religion?
Yes, but which one?
Could be rather violent - people have been burned
alive.
ThatÕd look good on stage!
IÕve got it! Shakespeare. Why donÕt we just put on one
of his plays?
Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble....
Of course, witchcraft!
Who is this fellow Shakespeare anyway?
What, have you nto heard of him? Famous now.
We want to make our own play!
About ourselves!
With a bit of adventure... fantasy...
History, too!
Everything in fact, all mixed in together!
ALL
If only we could!
PUCK
This class of scholars seems a jolly lot!
IÕll transport them whither they wish to fly.
Puck waves his wand..
And if that makes a seemly play -
All well and good; what care I? (exit)
Village children assemble in a forest.
VILLAGERS
ItÕs the year of Our Lord:
fifteen-eighty-eight,
the twenty-ninth year in the
reign of Gloriana,
Elizabeth the Queen.
Hail, Good Queen Bess!
Hail, Good Queen Bess!
Long may she thrive!
Now England is in danger,
threatened with invasion
by the enemy, the Spanish,
whoÕve set sail to conquer
this land of ours.
With a fleet of mighty
galleons
they approach our shores.
Please, God, our navy will
destroy them!
Protect us all, we pray!
Provide a strong prevailing
wind
to send the Spanish on their
way!
Our fathers joined the
fighting throng:
please spare them any pain!
Bring them safely home, we
beg,
so peace may reign again.
A GROUP
No news?
ANOTHER GROUP
No messages from London.
FIRST GROUP
WeÕve heard nothing;
SECOND GROUP
ItÕs hot.
FIRST GROUP
IÕm bored!
ALL
ItÕs the season of midsummer
madness.
SECOND GROUP
Since that new preacher came
no entertainmentÕs been allowed.
FIRST GROUP
Brother Zachariah - heÕs so
serious. Never smiles.
SECOND GROUP
He wants to purify peopleÔs
souls.
ALL
Well, weÕre too young, thank
you very much.
LYSANDA
ThatÕs my father youÕre talking about.
A VILLAGER
People in London are allowed to enjoy themselves. I
went there once.
ANOTHER VILLAGER
What is it like?
no.3
ALL
There are crowds of people
rushing this way and that.
Life is exciting there, the
streets full of sound:
shouting of street cries, horsesÕ hooves,
clogs on the cobbles, and
church bells echo round.
People come, people go,
London life is all on show!
Gentlemen bowing, doffing hats
to the ladies
Swishing silk and satin as the
rich walk along
Some dressed splendidly in
sumptuous velvet;
Dodging the hustle and bustle
of the throng.
People come, people go,
London life is all on show!
ÔPork ribs for sale! Succulent
fowl!Õ
ÔLovely red apples, ripe and
sweet!Õ
ÔStraight from the oven, fine
fresh loaves!Õ
All sorts of wonderful things
to buy and eat.
People come, people go,
London life is all on show!
But watch out for pickpockets:
there is nothing worse
than finding some urchin has
stolen your purse.
Watch out above you! Mind how
you tread!
The muck thrown out may fall
on your head!
The stench in the gutters just
grows and grows -
So buy a pamander to protect
your nose!Õ
Town life is dirty, yet it is
fun,
People there are brave, when
all is said and done.
And there in the centre of the
market square
is a crooked man with a
dancing bear;
I saw it whipped and heard it
roar:
yet the cheering crowd cried
out for more.
And still the vendors cried
their wares
While the beggars cried out
for money.
People passed by on their way
to a play
To see some history, something
sad or funny.
People come, people go,
London life is like a show!
Across the river, outside the
city,
ThereÕs a theatre as round as
an O
Where you travel to fantasy,
fame or fairyland,
Actors transport you to distant
times and places -
ThereÕs Shakespeare and
Marlowe and many famous faces:
For London is happy and
Londoners are sad:
Revelry, profanity, wantonness
and crime,
festivity, pageantry, royalty
and spectacle -
Londoners have