In one of the few versions of the Pied Piper to feature a happy ending, we have a first rate end of year show for juniors. This production is full of humour and colourful characters. The plot is very straightforward and the script is fast-moving and engaging, yet it also explores important universal themes in passing. The music is particularly strong, and detailed directions make the show simple to produce and perform.  A read-aloud story version is included, to help introduce the plot and characters to the children.

Rats have taken over Hamelin, led by bossy Big Cheese!  Grumpy street cleaner Mr Brümhandel fights a losing battle to keep the town clean while the people of Hamelin are too lazy to take responsibility for their own mess and dirt. Meanwhile, the Mayor and his incompetent sidekicks are more interested in lining their pockets than doing their jobs.  In this context we meet Peter, who has a limp and struggles to keep up with the other children. Left behind in a game of chase, Peter happens to meet the magical Pied Piper, who changes everything by enchanting the rats and leading them out of town, much to everyone's delight.  When the Piper returns to collect his fee, the Mayor admits that the treasury is empty!  To teach the people of Hamelin a lesson, the Pied Piper enchants all the children, leading them off into a mountain where they are all trapped - apart from Peter, whose limp holds him back.  He returns to Hamelin and suggests that everyone should pool their resources and pay the Piper.  In a surprising twist, when the Pied Piper returns he declares that the only payment he needed from the citizens was a change of heart. The children come home, led by Peter, who has proved himself to be the true leader of Hamelin!

Author: Nick Perrin, Ruth Kenward

Age guide: 8 to 12

Running time: 50 mins 

No. of songs: 11

"The show was amazing. The kids loved the music and the parents were delighted... for making the production so simple with all of the resources you make readily available!"  
~ Traci Geiser - Anastasis Academy, Littleton, CO USA