Imaginary Theatre’ss pitch doc draft 4.pdf · Life on board the Pirate ship is hard, particularly...

“The most revolutionary thing anyone can do in this life is actually be a nice person.”

Adapted by Mark Radvan from the novel by Anna Fienberg

A new theatrical work for children aged 6 - 12

Imaginary Theatre’s

2Imaginary Theatre’s Horrendo’s Curse - treatment Sept 2014

A boy named Horrendo lives in a village afflicted by an annual incursion of cruel pirates who steal everything of worth and take their children as slave labour. To cope, the villagers believe that in order for their children to survive, they must teach them to be violent, rude and mean-spirited. But Horrendo is cursed by a wise-woman named Gretel and cannot act as the others do: he cannot swear, hurt or humiliate anyone or anything. It appears to everyone that Horrendo is doomed.

As the day nears when the pirates will once again attack the village, Horrendo concocts a plan to defeat the Pirates but the local bully Bombastic and the other children, except for a sickly girl named Rascal, quickly reject this. When the pirates do arrive, despite Horrendo’s plan, Rascal is taken. Horrendo sacrifices his freedom by choosing to go with her. Life on board the Pirate ship is hard, particularly for Rascal. Horrendo becomes the ship’s cook and slowly wins over the Pirates with good food and kindness. However, the Pirate Captain refuses any way of life besides violence and selfishness and punishes severely any child who shows weakness.

After a fierce encounter with another pirate band (The Blue Devils), the Pirate Captain condemns Horrendo to walk the plank for making his crew soft and almost losing the battle. Secretly, the Pirate Captain stole a treasure map from the captain of the Blue Devils and has decided to get rid of the kids to gain the treasure. Horrendo, this time with the Children’s support, escapes and with the help of friendly dolphins, they make their way to a mysterious island.

They explore the island, which is dominated by a volcano. They encounter the Pirates, but minus their evil Captain. They had decided to mutiny and left him to the sharks. They also have the treasure map but can’t read it. Horrendo strikes a deal with the Pirates to help in return for a share of the treasure and safe passage home. The treasure is found but one of the pirates double crosses them all and claims the gold himself. The Pirate Captain suddenly appears and it seems that all hope is lost when Bombastic’s pet frog chokes the Pirate Captain, who then stumbles into the volcano, which promptly erupts. The Pirates and children grab the gold and run for their lives, all the way back to the Village.

There, an argument breaks out between the villagers (who blame the Pirates for everything), the children (who want the Pirates to stay) and the Pirates (who are jealous of the villager’s way of life). There’s an attempt by one of the pirates to double-cross everyone again, but Gretel releases Horrendo from the curse and he unleashes an horrendous tirade that leaves everyone dumb-struck. He then outlines a plan that will allow all three parties to live in harmony. They undertake to do so and are left siting at a long table sharing food and conversation at the dawn of a new era of hope and the forging of a new community.

The following is the documented outcomes and a brief treatment for the play Horrendo’s Curse that were distilled over a 4-week development supported by Queensland Theatre Company and the Australia Council, in August 2014. Imaginary Theatre have been developing the work since 2010, first as a draft adaptation by Mark Radvan, then through staging developments with Lucas Stibbard and Neridah Waters, supported by Brisbane Powerhouse, QUT and Arts Queensland. The finished work will be for children aged 6 - 12, their parents and educators. It is envisaged as a medium to large scale work capable of presentations in Playhouse sized venues akin to APACA A-venues. The work is scheduled to premier in 2016.


There is a philosophy behind the work; all systems are constructed and therefore change is always possible. These systems, the circumstances in which we find ourselves, are not the only ones that can or should exist. And sometimes, change happens as an inevitable consequence of the presence of difference.

This show is scaffolded by a meta-level in which a group of performers prepare and deliver the story of Horrendo’s Curse. The show starts with a choreographic set-piece that introduces this concept and leads into the story starting from a point of near catastrophe and mess that is quietly and almost invisibly handled. The chaotic player’s messes become near-misses via the work of The Fixer - the player who becomes Horrendo, our hero. Through his generosity and quiet sacrifice slowly chaos shifts to order and finishes with the players sitting at a long table sharing food and conversation at the start of a new world predicated on the values that Horrendo (in the story) and The Fixer (out-side) have introduced.

The form is intentionally theatrical and inventive rather than “finished”. The processes and the means by which images and moments are created are just as important as their result.

• Show; don’t tell. Direct Dramatisation moves the work away from the storytelling of the book and brings the stakes and the action to the present and activate the moments and the space, rather than be described.

• Spilling the story off the stage and into the audience – keeping the story present and “close” to all the children.

• Relishing the deliciousness of the conceits, the bad behaviour, the imaginative play, the interaction, the virtuosic comedic and physicality and the mess.

• “Try to use it 3 times”. Ideally all the elements should have multiple meanings and uses throughout the show so as to “earn their keep” within the pragmatic and imaginative world of play that the show occurs in.

• Action style storytelling, the use of cliff-hangers and hiding moments from the audience to create a tension of suspense.

• Escalation. Situations and moments can be taken through the sublime to the ridiculous. The performers physical work is informed by the beats and language of animation and cartoons: stylised reactions, double takes, comedic suprises and reveals, sound effects, slapstick and incongruous and intentionally anachronistic playful images.

• The subversion of expectation. Avoiding the standard conventions of stories for young people and stories about pirates and in doing so allowing a more eclectic style within the visual design, the music and the playing.


The story of Horrendo’s Curse plays out across a series of “worlds” that are a combination of physical and emotional or psychic space, they are:

“PERFORMER WORLD”The theatre space in which the story is performed and enacted by a group of players: this is the first space the audience discovers. It is a welcoming, playful and dynamic space. As this is some audience’s first time in a theatre it acts as a moment of decompression that allows for new experience to be less confronting.

“VILLAGE WORLD”A place of poverty of spirit, due to the circumstances in which it is found (the raiding by Pirates), the Village has settled into resignation and embraced a coping mechanism based in encouraging negative behaviour. It is a broken system, a place of disorder and unhapiness, accidents and intentional and artful clutter.


“PIRATE WORLD”“Pirate World” allows enjoyment the cliché of Pirates, the freedom to act as you wish. Bad behaviour, selfishness and rough play are celebrated. It is the promise of a pirate story delivered – swashbuckling, etc. There are sails and ropes and things to climb and things that make booming noises. There’s a sense of play and excitement here.

“CAPTAIN WORLD”“Captain World”, by contrast is the actual harsh realities of life on the ship. It is violent and cruel. It operates solely for the benefit of those at the top of its pyramid. The mood is less playful and there’s a sense of genuine menace and danger rather than excitement.

“ISLAND WORLD”“Island World” serves an opportunity for things to change, a place in which there can be new ideas tested. The kids and pirates form a bond and make a pact to co-operate for mutual benefit. The space is murky and has a sense of things hidden in it’s jungle, it is literally and figuratively new territory to be explored. It exists without the influence of a dominant negative force such as the Pirate Captain, and when the Pirate Captain is introduced to it, the world becomes unstable and eventually collapses taking the Pirate Captain with it.

VILLAGE WORLD AGAIN – “THE LONG TABLE”With the influence of the Pirate Captain gone, with the possibilities offered by the new co-operation between the kids and the pirates and Horrendo’s way finally being heard by everyone a new order can begin. The company sit down in harmony to share and we are left with an image of a society at the dawn of a new and brighter era. This starts to bleed back into Performer World from the beginning of the work as we gently de-enrol and bring the audience out of the fiction to share in this new sense of community.


The sound design and score created for Horrendo’s Curse will draw on a diverse variety of popular, retro, electronic and a range of cinematic musical styles. The combination of these eclectic styles will draw on sampling and remix culture to re-contextulatise the cliches from the pirate and adventure genres, and reframe them in 21st century style, triggered and performed live by a musician/actor that plays a crucial role in the storytelling and ensemble. This live performance and manipulation of audio fits the ‘making-world’ of the play. The score will be composed through character and setting based motifs to build mood and atmoshphere, drive and punctuate action, and will also contribute comic/foley style sound effects to the storytelling.

THE CHARACTER GROUPS Within the story there are 3 major sets of characters that are met, the kids, the pirates and the villagers.

THE KIDS (Horrendo, Rascal, Bombastic, Mischief, Hoodlum)The children of the village who have, for the past 12 years been prepared for life on board the Pirate Ship. They are Horrendo: our outsider hero, cursed to not be able to fit into this world, Rascal: the first follower, a sickly child who, once shown kindness by Horrendo becomes his ally and they first to try and make things change, Bombastic: a bully who is suited to the harsh and violent world and Mischief and Hoodlum, a pair of kids who have gotten by simply by not being the weakest or a threat and who will align themselves with whoever happens to be in power.Excluding Horrendo they are all, to varying degrees, stuck in the world they live in. Bombastic thrives, Mischief and Hoodlum get by and Rascal barely copes. Horrendo, by his nature sits outside this spectrum.


PIRATES (The Pirate Captain, Dogfish, Wicked, Squid and The Blue Devils)The Pirates consist of a similar grouping. The Pirate Captain is an apex bully, perfectly suited to the world and happy to be on top. Wicked is another creature suited to the negative world, he is selfish, mercenary and incapable of change. Dogfish, the first mate is the first of the pirates to see change is possible, again having been shown kindness by Horrendo. The other pirate Squid is similar to the children Mischief and Hoodlum; a middle dweller who will align themselves with power.The Pirates also fall across a spectrum, the most cruel and violent being The Pirate Captain, an Alpha-Type who is suited to this world and can use it to their advantage, Dogfish is the first-mate whose illness and Horrendo’s actions leads him to seeing Horrendo’s way, Squid gets by and Wicked is dyed in the wool of negativity that cannot change.

VILLAGERS (Horrendo’s Mum and Dad, The Teacher, Gretel)The Villagers are for the most part products of their environment, victims of the cycle of brutality who have taken on victim mentality and can’t see another way of living. They consist of Horrendo’s Mum, who believes that tough love and making him try to fit in is the only way, Horrendo’s Dad who has suffered at the hands of the pirates and is soft, caring and worried for Horrendo but not capable of defending him, the Teacher, who is responsible for the continued indoctrination of children into the cycle and Gretel, who acts as an outsider and agent of change through the curse she places on the village.


This work is for 5 performers and a performer/musician/technician.

CASTThe story of Horrendo’s Curse contains a large group of characters including villagers, children and pirates all of whom are performed by a company of six players (5 performers and a performer/musician/technician who is seen onstage and who sits in, out and beside the action of the piece). This doubling and tripling of characters is intentional and allows for thematic links and intentional juxtapositions between the characters each performer plays.

THE BREAKDOWN OF CHARACTER DOUBLINGThe breakdown for characters is as follows:

PLAYER 1The FixerPlays Horrendo and a Blue Devil Pirate. A younger male performer with excellent physical skills. The concept of the Fixer is explored as a major thematic of the work; it is the poetic and physical manifestation of Horrendo’s nature – someone who is almost super-heroically helpful and alert. Throughout the work the chaos and carelessness of the other players leads to a series of physical lazzi in which the care and agile dexterity of this player “saves” the show: a china vase is caught as it topples, a chair arrives just in time for another player to sit on it, an obstacle is whisked away just as it is about to become a trip hazard. Through these carefully choreographed moments we see Horrendo’s actions rather than simply see a character that doesn’t want to swear or be involved with the bad behaviour of the others.

PLAYER 2 The UnderdogPlays Rascal and the Blue Devil Captain. A younger female performer. The underdog represents those whose voice and presence is not heard in the current paradigm, who is placed in danger throughout the work and who is the first to start to see that there is another way of living. This is intentionally contrasted with the Blue Devil Captain, who is a character made for the current paradigm of violence.

PLAYER 3The Father FigurePlays Dad, Dogfish and Hoodlum.An older male performer. This player’s arc encompasses Horrendo’s Dad who is a soft and caring man who is genuinely worried for his son and Dogfish the pirate, who is the first amongst the pirates to see Horrendo’s way.


PLAYER 4The DominantPlays Mum, The Teacher, The Pirate Captain, Squid and Mischief. An older female performer. This player is responsible for the dominant alpha-types that are maintaining the paradigm of violence, negativity and self-interest. In Horrendo’s Mum this is based on the idea that tough love will help a child, this is continued by the teacher, whose understanding of education is limited to ineffectual preparation for the world as it exists rather than the creation of minds that could change it. The Pirate Captain is the pinnacle of this dominant behaviour, the apex of the current system and therefore the most interested in maintaining the status quo. The Pirate Captain is eventually deposed and that behaviour is removed from the game. With that pressure removed Horrendo’s Mum is able to become gentler.

PLAYER 5The DisruptorPlays Bombastic and Wicked.A performer or either gender, and of non-specific age.This performer is responsible for disruptive, bullying play, their characters share a similarity in that they are both suited to the chaotic and violent world. However there is contrasts found in their journeys: Bombastic shifts from being a bully in training to a reluctant ally of Horrendo and eventually changes their ways, Wicked, on the other hand is incapable of change and can’t fit into the new order that is introduced and choses to leave it.

PLAYER 6The Helpful OutsiderPlays Gretel and delivers the auditory component of the work.A musician and performer of either gender, and of non-specific age.This performer is actually an onstage musician, and technician whose work supports and punctuates the storytelling as well as acting as Gretel the wise woman, whose outsider status and dramaturgical action are served from “outside” the action of the performance. They act as an ally to The Fixer and are a force of order amongst the players.


Imaginary Theatre are Queensland’s dedicated children’s theatre company. Based in Brisbane, Imaginary create and present world-class arts events and performances for children aged 2-12, their parents, carers and teachers and advocate for the role of the arts in the lives of children and families. Established in 2006 as an independent organization, Imaginary have presented work to over 62 000 children and families across most states & territories in Australia, in South Korea and India. Their main body of work has included the theatrical adaptations of Anna & Barbara Fienberg’s ‘Tashi’ stories for 4-10 year olds, as well as more recently devised work ‘Look’ for 2-5 year olds, large scale digital installation ‘Giants Among Us’, a series of early years artists residencies in schools and the development of a series of new performance and installation works, including Horrendo’s Curse. Imaginary Theatre has worked long term between Australia and South Korea through relationships with LATT Children’s Theatre, REM Theatre and now ASSITEJ Korea. Imaginary Theatre is Mark Radvan, Thom Browning and Fiona MacDonald.

This treatment was developed by the following personnel as part of creative development

Director Sean MeePlaywright Mark RadvanAssociate Director Lucas StibbardDesigner Stephen CurtisChoreographer/Devisor Neridah WatersSound & AV Designer Thom BrowningAnimator & graphic designer Pete FoleyComposer Peter NelsonProducer Fiona MacDonaldStage Manager Alexandra Miles

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.This project has received financial assistance from the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, and was originally developed with the support of Brisbane Powerhouse.

Imaginary Theatre’ss pitch doc draft 4.pdf · Life on board the Pirate ship is hard, particularly...

Documents

Transcript of Imaginary Theatre’ss pitch doc draft 4.pdf · Life on board the Pirate ship is hard, particularly...