The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Synopsis

Scene 1 – Hamelin Town

The Narrators introduce Hamelin. Then King Ratticus and his Rat chorus scurry in, raiding bread, cheese and beds, and sing "Rats! Rats! Rats!" to percussion.

Scene 2 – The Town Hall

Mayor Gobble and his Councillors are feasting while the town suffers. The angry Townsfolk march in singing a round. A tall stranger in a red-and-yellow coat appears and promises to rid Hamelin of every rat for a thousand guilders. The Mayor shakes on it, with his fingers crossed behind his back.

Scene 3 – The River Weser

The Piper plays his tune (the recorder group plays live). The rats dance after him into the river, all except one little rat, Squeaker, who swims to the other side. The Mayor takes the credit.

Scene 4 – The Broken Promise

The Mayor and Councillors count the town's gold. When the Piper asks for his payment, the Mayor offers fifty guilders – take it or leave it – and the Townsfolk laugh too. The Piper warns them they may hear "another kind of tune".

Scene 5 – The Second Tune

The Piper plays again, and every child in Hamelin comes running and dancing. The grown-ups are frozen. A door opens in Coppelburg Hill and the children go in. Only Greta, who has hurt her ankle, can't keep up.

Scene 6 – The Silent Town

Hamelin is silent. Greta tells the parents about the wonderful land the Piper promised, and the Townsfolk turn on the Mayor, who finally understands what his broken promise has cost.

Scene 7 – Two Endings

In the traditional ending the children never return, and Hamelin remembers its lesson for ever. In the hopeful ending a humbled Mayor leads the town to the mountain to keep its promise, Greta plays the Piper's tune on her recorder, and the children come home. Both end with "A Promise Is a Promise".

Themes & Curriculum Links

PSHE

Respectful relationships: honesty, trustworthiness and keeping promises; fairness; responsibility (it isn't only the Mayor who laughs at the Piper); forgiveness and making amends in the hopeful ending.

English

Reading play scripts alongside Robert Browning's 1842 poem; performing with expression; debating whether the Piper was right.

Music

Ensemble playing on recorders and class percussion, singing in a round, and composing a contrasting "magic tune" with just three notes.

History

The real Hamelin legend: the town in Germany still remembers its lost children of 1284.

Characters

• The Pied Piper – A tall, quiet stranger in a red-and-yellow coat who always does exactly what he says he will.
• Mayor Augustus Gobble – Pompous, greedy and sure he can talk his way out of anything – a big comic role with a serious turn.
• Greta – A brave girl who loves music and is left behind; she tells the story and plays recorder in the hopeful ending.
• Narrators 1–4 – Guide the audience through the legend, with some lines from Browning's poem.
• King Ratticus, Nibbles, Gnasher & Squeaker – The rats, led by their greedy king. Squeaker is the tiny rat who survives.
• Councillors Pinch, Fuss & Snore and the Town Clerk – The Town Council, who agree with whatever the Mayor says (when Snore is awake).
• The Townsfolk – The Baker, Cheesemaker, Fishmonger, Tailor and Frau Weber, Greta's mother.
• Hans, Lotte & Fritz, plus Rats, Townsfolk, Children and a recorder group – Greta's friends and chorus groups of any size, each with a musical job.

The casting guide shows how to cast the play for 20, 25 or 30–32+ children, with line and word counts for every role. The Rats, Townsfolk and Children choruses can be any size, the Children can double as Rats, and a recorder group can play live on stage or at the side.