sleeping beauty

Transcription

sleeping beauty

SLEEPING BEAUTY
co-production with BITE:04 Barbican
Resource Pack
For Secondary Schools
CONTENTS
Page
1.
DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF SLEEPING BEAUTY
The Crocodile, the Snake and the Dog (Egypt)
2
The Ninth Captain’s Tale (Persia)
4
Sun, Moon, and Talia (Italy)
8
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood (France)
9
Little Briar-Rose (Germany)
16
Surya Bai (unknown)
17
Sleeping Beauty (England)
20
2.
CHARLES PERRAULT AND HIS STORIES
23
3.
FAIRY TALES IN FRANCE
25
4.
FAIRY TALES TIMELINE
27
5.
FAIRIES – RULES FOR BEHAVIOUR
31
6.
OGRES
34
7.
FARTING
37
8.
SONGS
39
Hunting Song
Seed and Acorn
9.
INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR RUFUS NORRIS
41
10.
INTERVIEW WITH DESIGNER KATRINA LINDSAY
44
11.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR’S DIARY
46
12.
COSTUME DRAWINGS BY KATRINA LINDSAY
48
13.
DIGITAL IMAGES OF THE MODEL BOX
54
If you have any questions or comments about this Resource Pack please contact us:
The Young Vic, Kennington Park, 2nd Floor, Chester House, 1- 3 Brixton Road, London, SW9 6DE
t: 020 7820 3350
f: 020 7820 3351
e: tpr@youngvic.org
Written by Kate Wild
Edited by Sue Emmas
© Young Vic 2002
First performed at the Young Vic on 22 November 2002. Revival first performed at the Barbican on 11
December 2004
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1.
DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF SLEEPING BEAUTY
The Young Vic's production of Sleeping Beauty is based on a version of the story by Charles Perrault.
Before Perrault wrote his story, however, many other variations of the tale existed. Over the following pages
we present just some of these variations in chronological order. At the end is a synopsis of the Young Vic’s
show.
The Crocodile, the Snake and the Dog (Egypt)
This ancient Egyptian story is found on the Harris Papyrus, now housed in the British Museum. When it was
first discovered the story was complete, but since then, the papyrus has been partially destroyed and the end
of the story has been lost. Here we have the familiar elements of childless parents, who, once blessed with a
child, are forced to deal with that child's decreed fate.
There was once an ancient king who was sad at heart because he had no son. He prayed to the gods to give
him a boy child, and they decided to grant his wish. When the Hathors (female deities, much like Fates or
fairies) came to decide his destiny they said, "His death shall be by the crocodile, or by the serpent, or by the
dog." A servant who overheard this hurried to tell the king, who was much grieved and frightened at the
news.
He built a huge palace in the mountains and furnished richly with everything his son could desire, so he
would never have to go outside. When the boy was grown he went out onto the roof, and saw a dog
following a man upon the road. He turned to his servant and said, "What is that following the man coming
along the road?" The servant told him it was a dog.
The child immediately wished to own a dog. His father, the king could not say no as he couldn't refuse his
beloved son anything.
As time went on and the child became a man, he grew restive, and, being told of the decree of the Hathors,
at once sent a message to his father, saying, "Why am I kept a prisoner? Though I am fated to three evil
fates, let me follow my desires. Let God fulfil His will."
So he went free. He set his face to the north, his dog following, and lived as he pleased. He came to the
chief of Nahairana. This chief had but one child, a daughter. He built for her a house with seventy windows
seventy feet from the ground. The chief commanded all the sons of the chiefs of the country of Khalu to be
brought, and said to them "He who reaches my daughter's windows shall win her for his wife."
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Some time after this the Prince arrived and asked the youths why they tried to climb to the palace windows.
And when they told him that they hoped to win the chief's daughter for a wife, he decided to make the
attempt with them, for he saw the face of the chief's daughter looking out from her window.
And he climbed the dizzy height and reached her window. She was so pleased that she kissed and
embraced him.
From here the papyrus tells how the prince marries the chief's daughter and takes her back to Egypt. He
avoids being bitten by a snake, due to the watchful eyes of his wife who kills it. "See," she says "your god
delivers one of your dooms into your hand. Surely he will also give you the others!" The prince then comes
across a crocodile who says to the prince, "Behold, I am your doom, following after you...
At this point the story on the papyrus deteriorates. As this is the only known copy of the story, we may never
know what happens to the Prince.
More about the story can be found at:
www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/7357/doomedprince.htm
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The Ninth Captain's Tale (Persia)
From 1001 Nights, first written down in 15th century Persia, but the stories are thought to be much older than
that.
There was once a woman who could not conceive. So one day she prayed to Allah, saying, "Give me a
daughter, even if she be not proof against the smell of flax!" (She meant that she would have a daughter,
even if the girl were so delicate and sensitive that even the soothing smell of flax would take hold of her
throat and kill her.) Soon the woman conceived and easily bore a daughter, as fair as the rising moon, as
pale and delicate as moonlight.
When little Sittukhan, for such they called her, grew to be ten years old, the sultan's son passed beneath her
window and saw her and loved her, and went back ailing to the palace. Doctor after doctor fruitlessly came to
his bedside; but, at last, an old woman, who had been sent by the porter's wife, visited him and said, after
close scrutiny, "You are in love, or else you have a friend who loves you."
"I am in love," he answered.
"Tell me her name," she begged, "for I may be a bond between you."
"She is the fair Sittukhan," he replied; and she comforted him, saying, "Refresh your eyes and tranquillise
your heart, for I will bring you into her presence."
Then she departed and sought out the girl, who was taking the air before her mother's door. After
compliment and greeting, she said, "Allah protect so much beauty, my daughter! Girls like you, and with such
lovely fingers, should learn to spin flax; for there is no more delightful sight than a spindle in spindle fingers."
Then she went away.
At once the girl went to her mother, saying, "Mother, take me to the mistress."
"What mistress?" asked her mother.
"The flax mistress," answered the girl.
"Do not say such a thing!" cried the woman. "Flax is a danger to you. Its smell is fatal to your breast, a touch
of it will kill you."
But her daughter reassured her, saying, "I shall not die," and so wept and insisted, that her mother sent her
to the flax mistress.
The white girl stayed there for a day, learning to spin; and her fellow pupils marvelled at her beauty and the
beauty of her fingers. But, when a morsel of flax entered behind one of her nails, she fell swooning to the
floor.
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They thought her dead and sent to her father and mother, saying, "Allah prolong your days! Come and take
up your daughter, for she is dead." The man and his wife tore their garments for the loss of their only joy, and
went, beaten by the wind of calamity, to bury her. But the old woman met them, and said, "You are rich folk,
and it would be shame on you to lay so fair a girl in dust." "What shall we do then?" they asked, and she
replied, "Build her a pavilion in the midst of the waves of the river and couch her there upon a bed, that you
may come to visit her." So they built a pavilion of marble, on columns rising out of the river, and planted a
garden about it with green lawns, and set the girl upon an ivory bed, and came there many times to weep.
The old woman went to the king's son, who still lay sick of love, and said to him, "Come with me to see the
maiden. She waits you, couched in a pavilion above the waves of the river." The prince rose up and bade his
father's wazir (the chief minister) come for a walk with him. The two went forth together and followed the old
woman to the pavilion. Then the prince said, "Wait for me outside the door, for I shall not be long." He
entered the pavilion and began to weep by the ivory bed, recalling verses in the praise of so much beauty.
He took the girl's hand to kiss it and, as he passed her slim white fingers through his own, noticed the morsel
of flax lodged behind one of her nails. He wondered at this and delicately drew it forth.
At once the girl came out of her swoon and sat up upon the ivory bed. She smiled at the prince, and
whispered, "Where am I?" "You are with me," he answered. He kissed her and they stayed together for forty
days and forty nights. Then the prince took leave of his love, saying, "My wazir is waiting outside the door. I
will take him back to the palace and then return."
He found the wazir and walked with him across the garden towards the gate, until he was met by white roses
growing with jasmine. The sight of these moved him, and he said to his companion, "The roses and the
jasmine are white with the pallor of Sittukhan's cheeks! Wait here for three days longer, while I go to look
upon the cheeks of Sittukhan."
He entered the pavilion again and stayed three days with Sittukhan, admiring the white roses and the
jasmine of her cheeks. Then he rejoined the wazir and walked with him across the garden towards the gate,
until the carob, with its long black fruit, rose up to meet him. He was moved by the sight of it, and said, "The
carobs are long and black like the brows of Sittukhan. O wazir, wait here for three more days, while I go to
view Sittukhan's brows."
He entered the pavilion again and stayed three days with the girl, admiring her perfect brows, long and black
like carobs hanging two by two. Then he rejoined the wazir and walked with him towards the gate, until a
springing fountain with its solitary jet rose up to meet him. He was moved by this sight and said to the wazir,
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"The jet of the fountain is as Sittukhan's waist. Wait here for three days longer, while I go to gaze again upon
the waist of Sittukhan."
He went up into the pavilion and stayed three days with the girl, admiring her waist, for it was as the slim jet
of the fountain. Then he rejoined the wazir and walked with him across the garden towards the gate. But
Sittukhan, when she saw her lover come again a third time, had said to herself, "What brings him back?" So
now she followed him down the stairs of the pavilion, and hid behind the door which gave on the garden to
see what she might see. The prince happened to turn and catch sight of her face. He returned toward her,
pale and distracted, and said sadly, "Sittukhan, Sittukhan, I shall never see you more, never, never again."
Then he departed with the wazir, and his mind was made up that he would not return.
Sittukhan wandered in the garden, weeping, lonely and regretting that she was not dead in very truth. As she
walked by the water, she saw something sparkle in the grass and, on raising it, found it to be a talismanic
ring. She rubbed the engraved carnelian of it, and the ring spoke, saying, "Behold here am I! What do you
wish?" "O ring of Sulaiman," answered Sittukhan, "I require a palace next to the palace of the prince who
used to love me, and a beauty greater than my own."
"Shut your eye and open it!" said the ring; and, when the girl had done so, she found herself in a magnificent
palace, next to the palace of the prince. She looked in a mirror which was there and marvelled at her beauty.
Then she leaned at the window until her false love should pass by on his horse. When the prince saw her, he
did not know her; but he loved her and hastened to his mother, saying, "Have you not some very beautiful
thing which you can take as a present to the lady who dwells in the new palace? And can you not beg her, at
the same time, to marry me?"
"I have two pieces of royal brocade," answered his mother, "I will take them to her and urge your suit with
them." Without losing an hour, the queen visited Sittukhan, and said to her, "My daughter, I pray you to
accept this present, and to marry my son."
The girl called her negress and gave her the pieces of brocade, bidding her cut them up for floor cloths; so
the queen became angry and returned to her own dwelling. When the son learned that the woman of his love
had destined the cloth of gold for menial service, he begged his mother to take some richer present, and the
queen paid a second visit, carrying a necklace of unflawed emeralds.
"Accept this gift, my daughter, and marry my son," she said; and Sittukhan answered, "O lady, your present
is accepted." then she called her slave, saying, "Have the pigeons eaten yet?"
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"Not yet, mistress," answered the slave.
"Take them these green trifles!" said Sittukhan.
When she heard this outrageous speech, the queen cried, "You have humbled us, my daughter. Now, at
least, tell me plainly whether you wish to marry my son or no."
"If you desire me to marry him," answered Sittukhan, "bid him feign death, wrap him in seven windingsheets, carry him in sad procession through the city, and let your people bury him in the garden of my
palace."
"I will tell him your conditions," said the queen.
"What do you think!" cried the mother to her son, when she had returned to him. "If you wish to marry the girl,
you must pretend to be dead, you must be wrapped in seven winding-sheets, you must be led in sad
procession through the city, and you must be buried in her garden!"
"Is that all, dear mother?" asked the prince in great delight. "Then tear your clothes and weep, and cry, 'My
son is dead!'"
The queen rent her garments and cried in a voice shrill with pain, "Calamity and woe! My son is dead!"
All the folk of the palace ran to that place and, seeing the prince stretched upon the floor with the queen
weeping above him, washed the body and wrapped it in seven winding-sheets. Then the old men and the
readers of the Koran came together and formed a procession, which went throughout the city, carrying the
youth covered with precious shawls. Finally they set down their burden in Sittukhan's garden and went their
way.
As soon as the last had departed, the girl, who had once died of a morsel of flax, whose cheeks were
jasmine and white roses, whose brows were carobs two by two, whose waist was the slim jet of the fountain,
went down to the prince and unwrapped the seven winding-sheets from about him, one by one.
Then "Is it you?" she said. "You are ready to go very far for women; you must be fond of them!" The prince
bit his finger in confusion, but Sittukhan reassured him, saying, "It does not matter this time!"
And they dwelt together in love delight.
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Sun, Moon, and Talia (Italy)
From Giambattista Basile’s Il Pentamerone, a 16th century Italian collection of stories. It seems likely that
Perrault read either Basile’s story or heard an oral version of it, as it is the only version of the story, prior to
Perrault’s that contains the character of the ogress. Basile’s collection was also possibly the origin of many
stories retold by the Brothers Grimm.
There once lived a great lord, who was blessed with the birth of a daughter, whom he named Talia. He sent
for the wise men and astrologers in his lands, to predict her future. They met, counselled together, and cast
her horoscope, and at length they came to the conclusion that she would incur great danger from a splinter
of flax.
From here the story is very similar to Perrault's version. Talia grows up and coming across an old woman
spinning, runs a splinter of flax under her nail and falls asleep. Talia's father lays her out on a velvet throne,
closes the doors to his mansion and abandons it. Talia is discovered by a passing king out hunting. She
bears him two children, one a boy and the other a girl. Trying to feed they seek the nipple, and not finding it,
began to suck on Talia's fingers, and they sucked so much that the splinter of flax came out. The king returns
to find Talia awake with two children.
The king is already married to an ogress who attempts to harm Talia and her children (much like the mother
ogress in Perrault's version). She is outwitted and the king eventually marries Talia and, we assume, they all
live happily ever after.
A full telling of the story can be found at www.public.iastate.edu/~lhagge/sun.moon.htm
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The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood (France)
This is the version of the story written by Perrault. This translation dates from 1889 and was first published in
English in Andrew Lang’s The Blue Fairy Book.
There were formerly a king and a queen, who were so sorry that they had no children; so sorry that it cannot
be expressed. They went to all the waters in the world; vows, pilgrimages, all ways were tried, and all to no
purpose.
At last, however, the queen had a daughter. There was a very fine christening; and the princess had for her
godmothers all the fairies they could find in the whole kingdom (they found seven), that every one of them
might give her a gift, as was the custom of fairies in those days. By this means the princess had all the
perfections imaginable.
After the ceremonies of the christening were over, all the company returned to the king's palace, where was
prepared a great feast for the fairies. There was placed before every one of them a magnificent cover with a
case of massive gold, wherein were a spoon, knife, and fork, all of pure gold set with diamonds and rubies.
But as they were all sitting down at table they saw come into the hall a very old fairy, whom they had not
invited, because it was above fifty years since she had been out of a certain tower, and she was believed to
be either dead or enchanted.
The king ordered her a cover, but could not furnish her with a case of gold as the others, because they had
only seven made for the seven fairies. The old fairy fancied she was slighted, and muttered some threats
between her teeth. One of the young fairies who sat by her overheard how she grumbled; and, judging that
she might give the little princess some unlucky gift, went, as soon as they rose from table, and hid herself
behind the hangings, that she might speak last, and repair, as much as she could, the evil which the old fairy
might intend.
In the meanwhile all the fairies began to give their gifts to the princess. The youngest gave her for gift that
she should be the most beautiful person in the world; the next, that she should have the wit of an angel; the
third, that she should have a wonderful grace in everything she did; the fourth, that she should dance
perfectly well; the fifth, that she should sing like a nightingale; and the sixth, that she should play all kinds of
music to the utmost perfection.
The old fairy's turn coming next, with a head shaking more with spite than age, she said that the princess
should have her hand pierced with a spindle and die of the wound. This terrible gift made the whole company
tremble, and everybody fell a crying.
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At this very instant the young fairy came out from behind the hangings, and spoke these words aloud:
"Assure yourselves, O King and Queen, that your daughter shall not die of this disaster. It is true, I have no
power to undo entirely what my elder has done. The princess shall indeed pierce her hand with a spindle;
but, instead of dying, she shall only fall into a profound sleep, which shall last a hundred years, at the
expiration of which a king's son shall come and awake her."
The king, to avoid the misfortune foretold by the old fairy, caused immediately proclamation to be made,
whereby everybody was forbidden, on pain of death, to spin with a distaff and spindle, or to have so much as
any spindle in their houses. About fifteen or sixteen years after, the king and queen being gone to one of
their houses of pleasure, the young princess happened one day to divert herself in running up and down the
palace; when going up from one apartment to another, she came into a little room on the top of the tower,
where a good old woman, alone, was spinning with her spindle. This good woman had never heard of the
king's proclamation against spindles.
"What are you doing there, goody?" said the princess.
"I am spinning, my pretty child," said the old woman, who did not know who she was.
"Ha!" said the princess, "this is very pretty; how do you do it? Give it to me, that I may see if I can do so."
She had no sooner taken it into her hand than, whether being very hasty at it, somewhat unhandy, or that the
decree of the fairy had so ordained it, it ran into her hand, and she fell down in a swoon.
The good old woman, not knowing very well what to do in this affair, cried out for help. People came in from
every quarter in great numbers; they threw water upon the princess's face, unlaced her, struck her on the
palms of her hands, and rubbed her temples with Hungary-water; but nothing would bring her to herself.
And now the king, who came up at the noise, bethought himself of the prediction of the fairies, and, judging
very well that this must necessarily come to pass, since the fairies had said it, caused the princess to be
carried into the finest apartment in his palace, and to be laid upon a bed all embroidered with gold and silver.
One would have taken her for a little angel, she was so very beautiful; for her swooning away had not
diminished one bit of her complexion; her cheeks were carnation, and her lips were coral; indeed, her eyes
were shut, but she was heard to breathe softly, which satisfied those about her that she was not dead. The
king commanded that they should not disturb her, but let her sleep quietly till her hour of awaking was come.
The good fairy who had saved her life by condemning her to sleep a hundred years was in the kingdom of
Matakin, twelve thousand leagues off, when this accident befell the princess; but she was instantly informed
of it by a little dwarf, who had boots of seven leagues, that is, boots with which he could tread over seven
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leagues of ground in one stride. The fairy came away immediately, and she arrived, about an hour after, in a
fiery chariot drawn by dragons.
The king handed her out of the chariot, and she approved everything he had done, but as she had very great
foresight, she thought when the princess should awake she might not know what to do with herself, being all
alone in this old palace; and this was what she did: she touched with her wand everything in the palace
(except the king and queen) -- governesses, maids of honor, ladies of the bedchamber, gentlemen, officers,
stewards, cooks, undercooks, scullions, guards, with their beefeaters, pages, footmen; she likewise touched
all the horses which were in the stables, pads as well as others, the great dogs in the outward court and
pretty little Mopsey too, the princess's little spaniel, which lay by her on the bed.
Immediately upon her touching them they all fell asleep, that they might not awake before their mistress and
that they might be ready to wait upon her when she wanted them. The very spits at the fire, as full as they
could hold of partridges and pheasants, did fall asleep also. All this was done in a moment. Fairies are not
long in doing their business.
And now the king and the queen, having kissed their dear child without waking her, went out of the palace
and put forth a proclamation that nobody should dare to come near it.
This, however, was not necessary, for in a quarter of an hour's time there grew up all round about the park
such a vast number of trees, great and small, bushes and brambles, twining one within another, that neither
man nor beast could pass through; so that nothing could be seen but the very top of the towers of the
palace; and that, too, not unless it was a good way off. Nobody; doubted but the fairy gave herein a very
extraordinary sample of her art, that the princess, while she continued sleeping, might have nothing to fear
from any curious people.
When a hundred years were gone and passed the son of the king then reigning, and who was of another
family from that of the sleeping princess, being gone a hunting on that side of the country, asked: “What
those towers were which he saw in the middle of a great thick wood?”
Everyone answered according as they had heard. Some said that it was a ruinous old castle, haunted by
spirits. Others, that all the sorcerers and witches of the country kept there their sabbath or night's meeting.
The common opinion was that an ogre lived there, and that he carried thither all the little children he could
catch, that he might eat them up at his leisure, without anybody being able to follow him, as having himself
only the power to pass through the wood.
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The prince was at a stand, not knowing what to believe, when a very good countryman spoke to him thus:
"May it please your royal highness, it is now about fifty years since I heard from my father, who heard my
grandfather say, that there was then in this castle a princess, the most beautiful was ever seen; that she
must sleep there a hundred years, and should be waked by a king's son, for whom she was reserved."
The young prince was all on fire at these words, believing, without weighing the matter, that he could put an
end to this rare adventure; and, pushed on by love and honor, resolved that moment to look into it.
Scarce had he advanced toward the wood when all the great trees, the bushes, and brambles gave way of
themselves to let him pass through; he walked up to the castle which he saw at the end of a large avenue
which he went into; and what a little surprised him was that he saw none of his people could follow him,
because the trees closed again as soon as he had passed through them. However, he did not cease from
continuing his way; a young and amorous prince is always valiant.
He came into a spacious outward court, where everything he saw might have frozen the most fearless
person with horror. There reigned all over a most frightful silence; the image of death everywhere showed
itself, and there was nothing to be seen but stretched-out bodies of men and animals, all seeming to be
dead. He, however, very well knew, by the ruby faces and pimpled noses of the beefeaters, that they were
only asleep; and their goblets, wherein still remained some drops of wine, showed plainly that they fell
asleep in their cups.
He then crossed a court paved with marble, went up the stairs and came into the guard chamber, where
guards were standing in their ranks, with their muskets upon their shoulders, and snoring as loud as they
could. After that he went through several rooms full of gentlemen and ladies, all asleep, some standing,
others sitting. At last he came into a chamber all gilded with gold, where he saw upon a bed, the curtains of
which were all open, the finest sight was ever beheld -- a princess, who appeared to be about fifteen or
sixteen years of age, and whose bright and, in a manner, resplendent beauty, had somewhat in it divine. He
approached with trembling and admiration, and fell down before her upon his knees.
And now, as the enchantment was at an end, the princess awaked, and looking on him with eyes more
tender than the first view might seem to admit of. "Is it you, my prince?" said she to him. "You have waited a
long while."
The prince, charmed with these words, and much more with the manner in which they were spoken, knew
not how to show his joy and gratitude; he assured her that he loved her better than he did himself; their
discourse was not well connected, they did weep more than talk -- little eloquence, a great deal of love. He
was more at a loss than she, and we need not wonder at it; she had time to think on what to say to him; for it
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is very probable (though history mentions nothing of it) that the good fairy, during so long a sleep, had given
her very agreeable dreams. In short, they talked four hours together, and yet they said not half what they had
to say.
In the meanwhile all the palace awaked; everyone thought upon their particular business, and as all of them
were not in love they were ready to die for hunger. The chief lady of honor, being as sharp set as other folks,
grew very impatient, and told the princess aloud that supper was served up. The prince helped the princess
to rise; she was entirely dressed, and very magnificently, but his royal highness took care not to tell her that
she was dressed like his great-grandmother, and had a point band peeping over a high collar; she looked not
a bit less charming and beautiful for all that.
They went into the great hall of looking-glasses, where they supped, and were served by the princess's
officers, the violins and hautboys played old tunes, but very excellent, though it was now above a hundred
years since they had played; and after supper, without losing any time, the lord almoner married them in the
chapel of the castle, and the chief lady of honor drew the curtains. They had but very little sleep -- the
princess had no occasion; and the prince left her next morning to return to the city, where his father must
needs have been in pain for him. The prince told him that he lost his way in the forest as he was hunting, and
that he had lain in the cottage of a charcoal burner, who gave him cheese and brown bread.
The king, his father, who was a good man, believed him; but his mother could not be persuaded it was true;
and seeing that he went almost every day a hunting, and that he always had some excuse ready for so
doing, though he had lain out three or four nights together, she began to suspect that he was married, for he
lived with the princess above two whole years, and had by her two children, the eldest of which, who was a
daughter, was named Morning, and the youngest, who was a son, they called Day, because he was a great
deal handsomer and more beautiful than his sister.
The queen spoke several times to her son, to inform herself after what manner he did pass his time, and that
in this he ought in duty to satisfy her. But he never dared to trust her with his secret; he feared her, though
he loved her, for she was of the race of the ogres, and the king would never have married her had it not been
for her vast riches; it was even whispered about the court that she had ogreish inclinations, and that,
whenever she saw little children passing by, she had all the difficulty in the world to avoid falling upon them.
And so the prince would never tell her one word.
But when the king was dead, which happened about two years afterward, and he saw himself lord and
master, he openly declared his marriage; and he went in great ceremony to conduct his queen to the palace.
They made a magnificent entry into the capital city, she riding between her two children.
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Soon after, the king went to make war with the Emperor Contalabutte, his neighbour. He left the government
of the kingdom to the queen his mother, and earnestly recommended to her care his wife and children. He
was obliged to continue his expedition all the summer, and as soon as he departed the queen mother sent
her daughter-in-law to a country house among the woods, that she might with the more ease gratify her
horrible longing.
Some few days afterward she went thither herself, and said to her clerk of the kitchen:
"I have a mind to eat little Morning for my dinner tomorrow."
"Ah! madam," cried the clerk of the kitchen.
"I will have it so," replied the queen (and this she spoke in the tone of an ogress who had a strong desire to
eat fresh meat), "and will eat her with a sauce Robert."
The poor man, knowing very well that he must not play tricks with ogresses, took his great knife and went up
into little Morning's chamber. She was then four years old, and came up to him jumping and laughing, to take
him about the neck, and ask him for some sugar candy. Upon which he began to weep, the great knife fell
out of his hand, and he went into the back yard, and killed a little lamb, and dressed it with such good sauce
that his mistress assured him that she had never eaten anything so good in her life. He had at the same time
taken up little Morning, and carried her to his wife, to conceal her in the lodging he had at the bottom of the
courtyard.
About eight days afterward the wicked queen said to the clerk of the kitchen, "I will sup on little Day."
He
answered not a word, being resolved to cheat her as he had done before. He went to find out little Day, and
saw him with a little foil in his hand, with which he was fencing with a great monkey, the child being then only
three years of age. He took him up in his arms and carried him to his wife, that she might conceal him in her
chamber along with his sister, and in the room of little Day cooked up a young kid, very tender, which the
ogress found to be wonderfully good.
This was hitherto all mighty well; but one evening this wicked queen said to her clerk of the kitchen, "I will eat
the queen with the same sauce I had with her children."
It was now that the poor clerk of the kitchen despaired of being able to deceive her. The young queen was
turned of twenty, not reckoning the hundred years she had been asleep; and how to find in the yard a beast
so firm was what puzzled him. He took then a resolution, that he might save his own life, to cut the queen's
throat; and going up into her chamber, with intent to do it at once, he put himself into as great fury as he
could possibly, and came into the young queen's room with his dagger in his hand. He would not, however,
surprise her, but told her, with a great deal of respect, the orders he had received from the queen mother.
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"Do it; do it" (said she, stretching out her neck). "Execute your orders, and then I shall go and see my
children, my poor children, whom I so much and so tenderly loved," for she thought them dead ever since
they had been taken away without her knowledge.
"No, no, madam" (cried the poor clerk of the kitchen, all in tears); "you shall not die, and yet you shall see
your children again; but then you must go home with me to my lodgings, where I have concealed them, and I
shall deceive the queen once more, by giving her in your stead a young hind."
Upon this he forthwith conducted her to his chamber, where, leaving her to embrace her children, and cry
along with them, he went and dressed a young hind, which the queen had for her supper, and devoured it
with the same appetite as if it had been the young queen. Exceedingly was she delighted with her cruelty,
and she had invented a story to tell the king, at his return, how the mad wolves had eaten up the queen his
wife and her two children.
One evening, as she was, according to her custom, rambling round about the courts and yards of the palace
to see if she could smell any fresh meat, she heard, in a ground room, little Day crying, for his mamma was
going to whip him, because he had been naughty; and she heard, at the same time, little Morning begging
pardon for her brother.
The ogress presently knew the voice of the queen and her children, and being quite mad that she had been
thus deceived, she commanded next morning, by break of day (with a most horrible voice, which made
everybody tremble), that they should bring into the middle of the great court a large tub, which she caused to
be filled with toads, vipers, snakes, and all sorts of serpents, in order to have thrown into it the queen and
her children, the clerk of the kitchen, his wife and maid; all whom she had given orders should be brought
thither with their hands tied behind them.
They were brought out accordingly, and the executioners were just going to throw them into the tub, when
the king (who was not so soon expected) entered the court on horseback (for he came post) and asked, with
the utmost astonishment, what was the meaning of that horrible spectacle.
No one dared to tell him, when the ogress, all enraged to see what had happened, threw herself head
foremost into the tub, and was instantly devoured by the ugly creatures she had ordered to be thrown into it
for others. The king could not but be very sorry, for she was his mother; but he soon comforted himself with
his beautiful wife and his pretty children.
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Little Briar-Rose (Germany)
Written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in Germany in 1812, published in Childhood and Household Tales.
A king and queen had no children, although they wanted one very much. Then one day while the queen was
sitting in her bath, a crab crept out of the water onto the ground and said, "Your wish will soon be fulfilled,
and you will bring a daughter into the world." And that is what happened.
Here the story continues very much as Perrault's version, until the moment when the Prince wakes Briar
Rose...
Finally he came to the old tower where Briar-Rose was lying asleep. The prince was so amazed at her
beauty that he bent over and kissed her. At that moment she awoke, and with her the king and the queen,
and all the attendants, and the horses and the dogs, and the pigeons on the roof, and the flies on the walls.
The fire stood up and flickered, and then finished cooking the food. The roast sizzled away. The cook boxed
the kitchen boy's ears. And the maid finished plucking the chicken. Then the prince and Briar-Rose got
married, and they lived long and happily until they died.
The Brothers Grimm are the first to introduce the waking kiss, they also omit the second half of the story
involving the ogress.
The full story can be found at: www.surlalunefairytales.com/sleepingbeauty/stories/littlebriarose.html
The Rose Bower
(1890)
Edward Coley Burne-Jones
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Surya Bai (Unknown)
This story is from Old Deccan Day a book of Hindu mythology collected in the nineteenth century by Mary
Frere. It is difficult to know when and where the story originated from.
The story tells of a milkwoman's baby who is snatched by an eagle flying overhead. The eagles bring up the
baby, and because she is like a young eaglet they call her Surya Bai (The Sun Lady). The eagles love the
child and bring her up, spoiling her with precious gifts. One day when Surya Bai is twelve years old, the
eagles decide to get her a diamond ring and leave Surya Bai alone in the nest. Surya Bai gets hungry and
goes in search of fire to cook her food. She comes across a wicked old Rakshas (very like an ogre), who
lived with her son in the little hut.
The young Rakshas, however, had gone out for the day. When the old Rakshas saw Surya Bai, she thinks
"Oh, if my son were only here we would kill her, and boil her, and eat her. I will try and detain her till his
return." Then turning to Surya Bai, she said, "Who are you, and what do you want ?" Surya Bai answers, "I
am the daughter of the great eagles, but they have gone a far journey to fetch me a diamond ring, and the
fire has died out in the nest. Give me, I pray you, a little from your hearth." The Rakshas replied, "You shall
certainly have some, only first pound this rice for me, for I am old, and have no daughter to help me." Then
Surya Bai pounded the rice, but the young Rakshas had not returned by the time she had finished; so the old
Rakshas said to her, "If you are kind, grind this corn for me, for it is hard work for my old hands." Then she
ground the corn, but still the young Rakshas didn't come; and the old Rakshas said to her, "Sweep the house
for me first, and then I will give you the fire." So Surya Bai swept the house; but still the young Rakshas didn't
come.
Then his mother said to Surya Bai, "Why should you be in such a hurry to go home? Fetch me some water
from the well and then you shall have the fire." And she fetched the water. When she had done so, Surya Bai
said, "I have done all your bidding; now give me the fire, or I will go elsewhere and seek it."
The old Rakshas was grieved because her son had not returned home: but she saw she could detain Surya
Bai no longer, so she said, "Take the fire and go in peace; take also some parched corn, and scatter it along
the road as you go, so as to make a pretty little pathway from our house to yours" and so saying she gave
Surya Bai several handfuls of parched corn. The girl took them, fearing no evil, and as she went she
scattered the grains on the road. Then she climbed back into the nest and shut the seven iron doors, and
lighted the fire, and cooked the food, and gave the dog and the cat some dinner, and took some herself, and
went to sleep.
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Scarcely had Surya Bai left the Rakshas' hut, when the young Rakshas returned, and his mother said to him,
"Alas, alas, my son! Why did not you come sooner? Such a sweet little lamb has been here, and now we
have lost her."' Then she told him all about Surya Bai. "Which way did she go?" asked the young Rakshas;
"only tell me that, and I'll have her before morning."
His mother had told him how she had given Surya Bai the parched corn to scatter on the road; and when he
heard that, he followed up the track, and ran, and ran, and ran, till he came to the foot of the tree. There,
looking up, he saw the nest high in the branches above him. Quick as thought, up he climbed, and reached
the great outer door; and he shook it, and shook it, but he could not get in, for Surya Bai had bolted it. Then
he said, "Let me in, my child, let me in; I'm the great eagle, and I have come from very far, and brought you
many beautiful jewels; and here is a splendid diamond ring to fit your little finger." But Surya Bai did not hear
him, she was fast asleep.
He next tried to force open the door again, but it was too strong for him. In his efforts, however, he had
broken off one of his finger-nails (the nail of a Rakshas is most poisonous) which he left sticking in the crack
of the door when he went away.
Next morning Surya Bai opened all the doors in order to look down on the world below; but when she came
to the seventh door a sharp thing, which was sticking in it, ran into her hand, and immediately she fell down
dead.
At that same moment the two poor old Eagles returned from their long journey, bringing a beautiful diamond
ring, which they had fetched for their little favourite from the Red Sea. There she lay on the threshold of the
nest, beautiful as ever, but cold and dead. The Eagles could not bear the sight; so they placed the ring on
her finger, and then, with loud cries, flew off to return no more.
But a little while after there chanced to come by a great Rajah, who was out on a hunting expedition. He
came with hawks, and hounds, and attendants, and horses, and pitched his camp under the tree in which the
Eagles' nest was built. Then looking up he saw, amongst the topmost branches, what appeared like a queer
little house, and he sent some of his attendants to see what it was. They soon returned, and told the Rajah
that up in the tree was a curious thing like a cage, having seven iron doors, and that on the threshold of the
first door lay a fair maiden, richly dressed; that she was dead.
At this the Rajah commanded that they should be fetched down, and when he saw Surya Bai he felt very sad
to think that she was dead. And he took her hand to feel if it were already stiff; but all her limbs were supple,
nor had she become cold, as the dead are cold; and, looking again at her hand, the Rajah saw that a sharp
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thing, like a long thorn, had run into the tender palm, almost far enough to pierce through to the back of her
hand.
He pulled it out, and no sooner had he done so than Surya Bai opened her eyes, and stood up, crying,
"Where am I? And who are you ? Is it a dream, or true?"
The Rajah answered, "It is all true, beautiful lady. I am Rajah of a neighbouring land; pray tell me who are
you?" She replied, "I am the Eagles' child." But he laughed: "Nay" he said, "that cannot be, you are some
great Princess." "No," she answered, "I am no royal lady; what I say is true. I have lived all my life in this tree.
I am only the Eagles' child."
Then the Rajah said, "If you are not a Princess born, I will make you one; say only that you will be my
Queen."
Surya Bai consented, and the Rajah took her to his kingdom and made her his Queen. But Surya Bai was
not his only wife and the first Ranee, his other wife, was both envious and jealous of her.
As the story continues, Surya Bai falls foul of Ranee who drowns her in a palace pool. A sunflower springs
up in her place. The Rajah, pining for Surya Bai falls in love with the flower. When Ranee heard this, she
orders her servants to dig up the sunflower, and to take it far into the jungle and burn it. Then, in the jungle,
from the place where the ashes of the sunflower had been thrown, springs up a beautiful young mango tree.
The milkwoman, Surya Bai's mother falls asleep under the tree and a beautiful ripe mango falls into her milk
pail. She takes it home only to discover a tiny woman in the place of the mango, richly dressed in red and
gold. The milkwoman takes care of her as if she were her own child. Eventually the milkwoman discovers
Surya Bai is her own daughter and Surya Bai is reunited with the Rajah. Ranee is punished and everyone
else lives happily ever after.
The full story can be found at:
www.belirius.co.uk/fairytales/Deccan/Deccan10.htm
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Sleeping Beauty (England)
Below is a synopsis of the script written by Rufus Norris.
It is morning in the forest and a fairy called Goody has just woken up to start her day. Suddenly a strange
young man bumps in to her. He is a prince and he is running away from an ogre.
“Why aren’t you afraid?” he asks her.
“Of what,” she replies.
“The ogre. AHHHHHH”
The ogre appears sniffing for his prince, whom he quite fancies for his lunch, but Goody hides the prince and
tricks the ogre into a deep sleep by putting herbs in his mouth.
Goody then explains that she has been waiting for a prince to come her way for a very long time. He will
fight through the thorns and awaken a sleeping princess with a kiss. He would then be king of the palace
with a beautiful wife and Goody would get her magic back.
The prince asks how she knows all this and so she tells him the story of a how it all came to be.
Many years before a king and a queen who could not have a child of their own came to Goody to ask for a
child. She granted their wish and they gave birth to a beautiful girl, whom they named Beauty.
But the king and queen forgot to invite the good fairy to her naming day, and the fairy was very angry and
sneaked in to have a look. On being discovered she cast a spell over Beauty saying that she would prick her
finger on a spinning wheel before her sixteenth birthday and fall into a deep sleep until the day she would be
awakened by a prince.
The king then demanded that all spinning wheels in the kingdom be broken so that Beauty would not be in
any danger. She grew up safe and sound, but on the day of her sixteenth birthday she asked her father for a
special present; a new dress and he loved her so much that he couldn’t say no.
Goody, who had felt really bad about casting the spell and had all this while been watching over Beauty,
stepped forward and said to the king that she would make the dress for him as long as he kept Beauty out of
the way.
Goody magiced up a spinning wheel and started to make a dress, when who should walk into the room but
Beauty herself. She had slipped away from her guards to see what was going on. Goody could not stop her
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and she pricked her finger on the spindle and fell into a deep sleep. Sorry for what she had done Goody
then set herself the task of sitting outside and waiting for a prince to come along and wake her.
Goody has finished her story and turns to the prince, who attempts to overthrow the thorns but fails dismally.
Obviously he was not the one to wake Beauty.
Goody then spies a strange woman coming towards her. It is an ogress who is about to give birth to a
human child. Goody goes with her to help her because she thinks that maybe this prince will be brave
enough to wake Beauty.
And indeed he grows up to be a strong and brave prince.
One day whilst out walking Goody tells him the story and takes him to the place where Beauty is sleeping.
He fights through the thorns, finds Beauty and wakes her with a kiss.
Meanwhile his mother is waiting jealously for him at home. By the time he returns with Beauty, they have
two beautiful children, Hector and Rose. The prince’s mother is not very pleased and she dislikes Beauty
and the children so much, that she plans to cook and eat them. One day the ogre who has just woken up in
Goody’s ground hole comes looking for Goody and attacks the castle. Whilst the Prince is out fighting him,
the prince’s mother tries to hatch her plan. Goody however manages to trick her by swapping the children
and Beauty with bits of meat. They escape from the castle and race into the forest.
So now in the forest is the ogre hunting Goody, the prince hunting the ogre, Beauty hunting for the prince,
and the ogress hunting Beauty and the children.
Eventually they all meet and there is a fight between the ogre and ogress - and the ogress (prince’s mother)
dies. Goody then kills the ogre to save everyone else knowing that this means she will die. But Goody
doesn’t die, only the fairy in her dies. So Beauty and the prince and their children go off to continue their life
in the castle, and Goody stays in the forest as another day starts.
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Sleeping Beauty
(Date Unknown)
Edward Frederick Brewtnall
Sleeping Beauty
(Date Unknown)
William A. Breakspeare
© Heidi Ann Heiner SurLaLune Fairy Tales
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2.
CHARLES PERRAULT AND HIS STORIES
Born in Paris in 1628 to a distinguished family of high-achievers, Charles Perrault was sent, at the age of
nine, to the College de Beauvais where he was consistently head of his class. He decided to leave school
early, however, and follow his own course of study, reading with a friend in the local garden of Luxembourg.
He eventually went to college at Orleans where he graduated with a degree in law and was admitted to the
Bar, though his career in the law was brief. He renounced it in 1654 and worked for his brother in the civil
service for ten years. While working on the design for some royal buildings, he attracted the attention of
Colbert, Louis XIV's minister of finances and superintendent of the Royal buildings. In 1663 he became
Colbert’s secretary, a post he would hold for the next twenty years.
Louis XIV’s reign was one of the longest and most famous of Frances’ kings. He was known as Le Roi Soleil
(the Sun King) and poured huge sums of money into palaces for himself and his court, and costly wars with
Holland, Austria and England. He claimed a "divine right" to rule and bolstered the power of the king over
that of his nobles. In doing so, he created a large court about himself, which became the centre of France's
political and intellectual life. Perrault, as a civil servant in the Sun King's court, was at the hub of the artistic
and scientific endeavour of his age and contributed greatly to it. During his time at court he wrote poetry,
essays, and panegyrics for the king. He was elected to the French Academy in 1671, eventually becoming
Director of the Academy. His work for Colbert was wide-ranging, but included submitting designs for the
Louvre. The eastern facade is still called Perrault Colonnade. In 1683, however, the King moved his court to
Versaille and in the same year, Colbert died. Perrault resigned his post, staying in Paris to dedicate himself
full-time to writing.
In 1683, Perrault initiated the notorious ‘Quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns’ with the reading of his poem
Le Siécle de Louis le Grande (The Age of Louis the Great). His claim, an extremely radical one at this time,
was that the intellectual achievements of seventeenth century France were equal to, or even greater, than
those of Classical Greece and Rome.
As the ‘quarrel’ raged through France, Perrault and the other
Modernes brought many arguments to bear, including making the point that the homegrown folk lore of
France could inspire a vigorous new literature, free of antiquated rules.
However, the achievement Perrault would become famous for, was still to come. In the 1690's he composed
several poems and tales using folklore themes. He produced three magical tales in verse, including
Donkeyskin, then a prose version of The Sleeping Beauty, and finally, in 1697, his famous collection Contes
du temps passé also known as Contes de ma Mére l'Oye (Or Mother Goose Tales), published under the
name of his son: Pierre Perrault Darmancour. Opinion is divided as to why Perrault didn't publish the stories
under his own name (although they all seem to agree that the father is at least the co-author). One
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suggestion is that the initiator of the Quarrel didn't want to stir up another controversy with a decidedly
‘modern’ piece of work. Whatever the reason, Pierre died three years after the stories were published. His
father outlived him by only another three years, dying in Paris in 1703, at the age of 75. Within a few years
his work had been translated into many different languages around Europe and his name synonymous with
Mother Goose for centuries to come.
When Perrault used the term Mother Goose Tales on the frontispiece of his published stories, he wasn’t the
first to refer to this mythical figure. The term has been traced to Loret's 1650 La Muse Historique in which
appeared the line, Comme un conte de la Mere Oye (Like a Mother Goose story), but no-one is sure where
the name came from.
It was probably the popularity of Perrault’s collection that led to the fame of the Mother Goose figure.
However, it took hold when a writer of children's rhymes, John Newbery, adopted her name for a collection of
mostly traditional rhymes in the second half of the eighteenth century. Mother Goose's Melody: or Sonnets
for the Cradle was widely pirated and numerous editions were reprinted in England and America.
Apart from Sleeping Beauty, Perrault wrote many stories we know quite well. Here is a list of his contes
(stories).
Griseldis (Patient Griselda)1691
Les Souhaits Ridicules (Three Wishes) 1693
Peau d'Ane (Donkeyskin) 1694
(These three stories were all written in verse)
The following stories were compiled in his Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passé (Tales From Times Past)
otherwise known as Contes de Ma Mére L'Oye (Tales of Mother Goose) and published in 1697:
Sleeping Beauty (La Belle au bois dormant)
Little Red Riding Hood (Le Petit Chaperon Rouge)
Bluebeard (La Barbe Bleue)
Puss in Boots (Le Maistre Chat, ou le Chat Botté)
The Fairies (Les fees)
Cinderella (Centrillon, ou la petite pantoufle de verre)
Tom Thumb (Le Petit Pouçet)
Rickey with the Tuft (Riquet a la Houppe)
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3.
FAIRY TALES IN FRANCE
When Charles Perrault first turned to writing fairy tales, he was joining an immensely popular fairy tale
movement that had begun over twenty years earlier, at least as early as 1670, among a group of radical,
upper-class women. Prior to the 17th century, French folk tales were considered the province of the
peasantry, although members of the upper-classes often knew such tales via nurses and servants. Some
time in the middle of the 17th century, however, a passion for conversational parlour games based on the
plots of old folk tales swept through Paris.
They took place in the salons, which were regular gatherings hosted by prominent aristocratic women in their
own homes. Women and men would gather together to discuss art and philosophy, as well as the issues of
the day. This was a time when women were barred from schools and universities and the salons were one of
the few places where women's voices could be heard. At the salons, women could discuss many of the
issues they found important to their lives, such as the difficult position of women in French society, where
marriages were arranged, divorce extremely uncommon and many women died in childbirth.
The salons were also one of the few places where women were encouraged to write. When the fashion for
retelling fairy tales began, each member of the salon was called upon to rework an old story, spinning clever
new tales that not only showcased verbal agility and imagination, but also slyly commented on the conditions
of aristocratic life. Great emphasis was placed on a mode of delivery that seemed natural and spontaneous,
but in fact people devised and practised their stories before they delivered them in public, and a style
emerged that was both sophisticated and faux-naif (falsely niaive).
Madame D'Aulnoy was the major force behind the fairy tale vogue and the first to publish her salon tales, but
she was soon followed by a number of other female writers (de Murat, L'H'éritier, Bernard, de la Force, etc)
most of whom knew and were influenced by each other to varying degrees. Madame d'Aulnoy's own history
is almost as fantastical as any of her stories. She was born Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville in
Normandy in 1650, and received a modest convent education, arranged for her by Baron d'Aulnoy, a wealthy
aristocrat who was thirty years her senior. When Marie-Catherine was 15 or 16, the Baron abducted her from
the convent (with the connivance of her father, who profited financially) and forced her to marry him. The
Baron was famed for his dissolute habits, including drunkenness and an addiction to gambling. Three long
years later, it looked as though the girl might be freed from her odious husband when the Baron was
arrested and charged with a crime of high treason against the king. Then the two men who had implicated
the Baron recanted their testimony under torture. These men were discovered to be the lovers of the young
Baroness and her beautiful mother, and it was now believed that the whole affair had been cooked up
between the four of them. The Baron was released, the men were executed, and d'Aulnoy and her mother
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fled to Spain. The two adventurous women spent the next several years travelling the Continent, and may
have been spying for Louis XIV as a way of regaining his favour. Baroness d'Aulnoy received royal
permission to return to Paris in 1685, where she promptly set up a literary salon in the rue San-benoit.
Intelligent, beautiful, and tinged with an aura of mystery, she soon formed a glittering group around her of
nonconformist women and men. Although d'Aulnoy's name is little known now, her tales are still retold
today, republished in modern bowdlerized forms: The White Cat, The White Deer, Green Snake, The Yellow
Dwarf, Bluecrest, The Royal Ram, and other magical works.
The lives of the other women writers of the salons are almost as fascinating. Henriette-Julie de Castelnau,
Comtesse de Murat, was another exile, banished from Paris after she wrote a thinly veiled satire of the king's
mistress. Yet even in confinement, she managed to maintain close contact with her women friends, and
continued to play an active role in the Parisian fairy tale movement. Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier de Villandon,
was born into a family of scholars who saw nothing untoward in her desire to be a writer, and by refusing all
offers of marriage she managed to stay independent and continue to write. Catherine Bernard, born in
Rouen in 1662, was not accepted at the court, but became a part of the fairy tale circle and attended
L'Héritier's salons. She resisted marriage in order to devote herself to a literary career, writing poems,
novels, and tragedies, which are known to have influenced Voltaire.
Throughout the 18th century, stories by d'Aulnoy, de Murat, L'Héritier and the other writers from the salons
began to find their way into the pages of the Bibliotheque Bleue - a series of cheap and popular books
distributed by travelling book peddlers. Intended for readers of the lower classes, the tales were shortened
and simplified - and in this form, they started to slip right back into the oral folk tradition. Dialogue, details,
characters, and plots original to the salon writers can now be found throughout the oral folk tales of France
and other countries.
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4.
FAIRY TALES TIMELINE
Many fairy tales began life in an oral form and as a consequence tracking their history and development is
no easy task. The following timeline provides an overview that goes some way to show the arch of their
journey through the ages. The timeline follows the path of the European tradition from which Sleeping
Beauty originates and therefore does not take into account the history of storytelling from Nordic, Native
American, Asian traditions etc.
A.D. 100-200 GREECE
The myth, Cupid and Psyche is written by Apuleius and included in his Metamorphoses (also known as The
Golden Ass). Some scholars consider this to be the first literary fairy tale, very similar in nature to Beauty and
the Beast.
A.D. 200-300 INDIA
A Hindu collection of tales, the Panchatantra, is written. Some of these tales are thought to be forerunners to
a few European fairy tales.
850-860 CHINA
The first known literary version of Cinderella in the world is written in China.
Circa 1500 PERSIA
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights is first recorded.
1634-6 ITALY
Giambattista Basile writes Il Pentamerone, also known as The Tale of Tales. It is written in the hard-totranslate Neapolitan dialect and not translated into Italian until 1747, German in 1846, and English in 1848,
essentially removing them from influence upon the oral tradition until then.
1690-1710 FRANCE
The French Salons are filled with fairy tale writing, primarily by women writers. The most prolific and
influential is Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy.
1696-1698 FRANCE
Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy, the foremost fairy tale author of the French Salons, publishes four volumes of
fairy tales. They are translated into English in 1699.
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1697 FRANCE
Charles Perrault's Histoires ou Contes du temps passe, also known as Mother Goose Tales, is published in
Paris. The tales enjoy instant success. Some of the tales included in this collection are Cinderella, The
Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, and Puss in Boots.
1729 GREAT BRITAIN
Robert Samber translates into English and publishes Perrault's Histories, or Tales of Times Past. They are a
hit and become some of the most popular fairy tales of all time.
1740 FRANCE
Madame Gabrielle de Villeneuve writes a 362 page version of Beauty and the Beast which appears in La
jeune ameriquaine, et les contes marins (The Young American Girl and the Sea Tales). This version is not
intended for children with its many storylines, length, and subject matter.
1756 FRANCE
Madame Le Prince de Beaumont publishes her own, considerably shorter version, of Beauty and the Beast.
This version is the best well-known and most used as the basis for later interpretations of the tale. It is written
for a young audience, with didactic messages and a simpler storyline. This is the first example of a literary
fairy tale being written specifically for children.
1812 & 1815 GERMANY
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm publish Kinder und Hausmarchen (Childhood and Household Tales). Popular
tales from the collection include The Frog King, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin and Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs.
1823 GREAT BRITAIN
Editor Edgar Taylor publishes the first English translation by his brother Edward Taylor of the Grimms' tales
in German Popular Stories. The book is illustrated by George Cruikshank.
1835 DENMARK
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales Told for Children is published. Many of the tales are original stories,
but a few are based on traditional folklore, including The Wild Swans and The Princess on the Pea.
1866 RUSSIA
Aleksandr Afanasyev collects and publishes his first volume of Russian fairy tales.
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1867 FRANCE
Gustave Dore's illustrations for Perrault's fairy tales are first published in Les Contes de Perrault, dessins par
Gustave Dore.
1889 ENGLAND
Andrew Lang publishes the first of his twelve fairy books, The Blue Fairy Book. Most of the illustrations in the
books are drawn by H. J. Ford. The twelfth and final book, The Lilac Fairy Book, will be published in 1910.
The books remain popular for gathering tales from numerous traditions.
1890 RUSSIA
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty premieres in St. Petersburg, Russia on January 15, 1890.
Choreography is by Marius Petipa and the book is by Marius Petipa and Ivan Vsevolojsky. Some of
Tchaikovsky's score will later appear in Walt Disney's adaptation of the story.
1937 UNITED STATES
Walt Disney's first feature length animated film is released, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The film is a
commercial success and leads to the creation of several more Disney fairy tale adaptations. The seven
dwarfs now have names, thanks to Walt Disney.
1946 FRANCE
Jean Cocteau's film, La Belle et la bete (Beauty and the Beast) is released.
1950 UNITED STATES
Walt Disney's Cinderella is released.
1959 UNITED STATES
Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty is released.
1971 UNITED STATES
Anne Sexton, a Pulitzer Prize interpretations of winning poet, publishes her poetry anthology,
Transformations. The poems present dark well-known fairy tales not intended for children.
1975 UNITED STATES
Bruno Bettelheim, originally from Vienna, publishes The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance
of Fairy Tales, a psychological analysis of the relationship between children and fairy tales. With its Freudian
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bias, the book becomes a staple in fairy tale studies while remaining very controversial in its views and
methodology. In 1977, the book wins the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
1979 GREAT BRITAIN
Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber is published in Great Britain. Like Sexton's Transformations, this short
story anthology is firmly aimed at an adult audience with its dark themes.
1989 UNITED STATES
Disney's The Little Mermaid is released. Although Walt Disney is no longer alive, the Disney version of the
Hans Christian Andersen tale follows the Disney formula, rewriting the ending and adding cute animal
helpers. The movie's success causes Disney to return to its most successful movie formula – the classic
musical adapted from well-known literature – several times over the coming decade.
1991 UNITED STATES
Disney's Beauty and the Beast is released. It is the first feature length animated film to be nominated for an
Academy Award.
1994
From the Beast to the Blonde On Fairy tales and their Tellers is published (London, 1994). Written by
Marina Warner the book focuses on the importance of the female voice in relation to the tellers of fairy tales
and secondly the role of female characters and their adventures in a selection of 5 main fairy tales including
The Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella.
2000
ISRAEL
Postage stamps to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the death of Hans Christian Andersen are issued.
Titled ’The King of Tales,’ they are based on original illustrations by Samuel Katz that accompanied
Andersen’s fairy tales.
2001
May, Shrek is released by Dreamworks, a computer animated feature film which amalgamates numerous
fairy tale characters into a reinvention of the traditional fairytale adventure.
August, Princess Diaries is released by Walt Disney Pictures, starring Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway.
The Princess Diaries dramatises the classic dilemma of a princess fairy tale into a modern Manhattan
setting.
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5.
FAIRIES – RULES FOR BEHAVIOUR
Although it is very rare to meet a fairy these days, it is important to know the correct way to behave, as a
simple mistake might lead to grave offence. Fairies can bring prosperity and good luck to humans. However,
they can also take it away if offended. (The following rules have been compiled from a range of folklore
sources.)
Don't end up in fairyland
Fairyland is a magical and wondrous place. However it is extremely dangerous for humans and many end up
captive for centuries. Time operates differently in fairyland. Many mortals have spent a few hours there only
to return home to find that centuries have passed.
"If you see a faery ring in a field of grass,
Very lightly step around, tip-toe as you pass."
One way to end up in fairyland is to step into a fairy ring: that is a ring of stones, or toadstools or a patch of
ground which is a darker shade than that around it. Fairy rings can take you straight to fairyland, so are best
avoided. Similarly, don't join a fairy dance. Mortals who have joined fairies dancing in a ring have also ended
up in fairyland.
Don't be too curious
Fairies are very shy creatures and jealous of their privacy. If you come across them, it is best not to let them
know you have seen them or their activities. Reverend Robert Kirk wrote The Secret Commonwealth of
Elves, Fauns and Fairies over 300 years ago revealing many secrets about fairies and their lives. It is said
that as a punishment he is being held captive in fairyland.
Don't wear green
Green is thought to be an unlucky colour. Many fairies wear it and it is thought to be a dangerous colour for
mortals to wear.
Don't try and cheat fairies in a bargain
Any mortals who have tried to cheat fairies or trick them in some way have found they themselves get the
worse of the deal. Fairies have afflicted humans with itchy skin, bad hearts and rheumatism when they have
been cheated.
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Don't try to steal anything from a fairy
Fairies often say "All that's yours is mine, all that's mine is my own." However they are not too happy about
mortals who have similar opinions about fairies' belongings. Men have gone to fairyland and tried to steal
some of the wonderful treasure that is to be found there. When they have returned to the mortal world, the
gold or jewels they have taken have turned to earth and the fairies have punished them for their ill deeds.
Be careful eating fairy food
Fairies often leave food as a gift or in return for things they have "borrowed". Some say that it tastes
wonderful, but there are some stories that fairy food is nothing more than straw or weeds with a ‘glamour’ or
spell cast over it to make it taste good. But whatever you do DON'T EAT FOOD IN FAIRY LAND. If you do
you will have to stay there forever.
Be polite
Fairies hate rudeness. If a fairy asks you a question, answer truthfully and politely. If a fairy gives you a gift
or helps you with a task, make sure you show your gratitude with a gift of food, a nod or bow, but DON'T
EVER SAY THANK YOU TO A FAIRY. They consider it extremely rude.
Tidy your room
Fairies often come to visit human homes: to ‘borrow’ some food or to warm themselves by the fire. They hate
it when they find things in a mess. They are very tidy themselves and are apt to punish messy humans.
Many artists have tried to capture the qualities of fairies through paintings and drawings (see illustrations)
and many people have described their fairy sightings. Everyone’s image of fairies is unique and the Young
Vic’s creation of Goody the fairy is equally distinctive.
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Three Spirits Mad with Joy
The Pear Blossom Fairy
Fairies at the Cradle
The Rose Fairy
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6.
OGRES
Some of the earliest known Greek myths tell of the race of Titans, giants who existed before the gods.
Cronus (known as Saturn by the Romans) was the youngest of the Titans, the children of Sky (Uranus) and
Earth (Gaea). Sky and Earth had foretold to Cronus that he would be deposed by one of his own children, so
he swallowed them one after another – Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon – as soon as they were
born. But when his wife Rhea had given birth to Zeus, the youngest, she wrapped up a stone in swaddling
clothes and gave it to Cronus, who swallowed it instead of the child. When Zeus, who had been hidden in
Crete, grew up, he gave his father a dose which compelled him to disgorge first the stone and then the
children whom he had swallowed.
Since then there have been many similar stories about giants that eat human flesh (particularly that of
children) and how they have been tricked out of their meal. Asia has demons or rakshasas, Scandinavia,
Scotland and Ireland have Giants, the folklore of the Bushmen, Kaffres, Basutos, Indians of Guiana and
Eskimos all have stories of cannibalism and miraculously disgorged human meals.
When Basile introduced a giant, ugly creature that ate humans in several of his stories he gave them the
Italian name of orco or orca. This word is thought to have come from the Latin ‘Orcus’ for Hades, god of the
underworld. (This probably also gave rise to the name of Tolkein's orcs in The Lord of the Rings, the evil and
repellent creations of Sauron.) The French version "ogre" was used first by Madame D'Aulnoy in L'Orangier
et l'Abeille and defined later by Perrault as: "Those cruel men, which are called ogres, and who smell fresh
meat, and who eat little children."
Since then ogres have become a favourite figure in fairy tales. They are recognisable by their bulk and size,
their ravenous hunger, and their lower-than-usual intelligence, which allows them to be easily outwitted by a
clever hero or heroine. However, ogres are quite close to humans and can interbreed with us. They can
therefore be quite benevolent at the core, in many stories they befriend and help the hero.
In the opening story in Basile's Il Pentamerone the hero Antuano makes friends with an ugly ogre who gives
him special gifts: a donkey that poos gold, a tablecloth that produces banquets and a magic club that rains
blows on all and sundry. In another tale by Basile called Viola the heroine is bullied by her two elder sisters.
In an attempt to get rid of her, they drop their weaving into the garden of an ogre and lower her over the wall
on a rope to get it back. The ogre is having a stroll in the garden after he has finished lunch and lets go a
huge fart. When he turns around he sees Viola standing there and thinks his fart has given birth to her. He
makes Viola his daughter, takes her into his home and eventually helps her marry the prince of her dreams.
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Not all ogres are as friendly, however. And the heroes and heroines of fairy stories need to be clever to
escape them. In Hop o' my Thumb, another tale from Perrault, the small and weak hero is abandoned in the
forest, with his six brothers, by his starving family. They take shelter in the house of an ogre who likes to eat
children. Hop o' My Thumb notices that the ogre's daughters sleep with golden crowns on their heads, so he
swaps them for the caps of his brothers. The ogre kills his seven daughters and Hop o' My Thumb and his
brothers escape.
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These illustrations by Gustave Doré, 1862 are from Charles Perrault’s, ‘Le petit Poucet’. In the story
the ogre’s seven daughters ‘showed signs of great promise and had already taken to biting babies in
order to suck their blood…’but Hop o’ My Thumb tricks the ogre into cutting their throats.
One after another he dragged them from under the bed
He cut the throats of his seven little daughters
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7.
FARTING
Hippocrates said in the fifth century BC: "It is best to pass wind noiselessly, but even a noisy fart is
better than one retained."
Hippocrates of Cos, a Greek physician from the fifth century BC said, "It is best to pass wind noiselessly, but
even a noisy fart is better than one retained."
Farts are a way of releasing toxins and excessive gas in the stomach or intestines. We are constantly
swallowing air (mainly oxygen and nitrogen) when we talk or eat and the air travels 8m down the digestive
tract where, in the intestines, it blends with the products of digestion: carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen.
These gases form compounds with carbon and sulphur making the smelly gases such as skatol (C9H9N) or
hydrogen sulphine (H2S) which smells like rotten eggs.
Most humans pass between 200 and 2000ml of gas each day, between 10 and 20 times per day.
One man in Oklahoma was known to fart as much as 145 times daily.
The average human releases enough flatus in a day to blow up a small balloon.
Foods that make you fart include: apricots, baked beans, onions, garlic, cabbage, brussel sprouts, chewing
gum, chilli, curry, eggs, milk and spicy food.
The most famous farter was Joseph Pujol (1857–1945). He was a French entertainer known as Le
Pétomane. (Pet is French for fart). He debuted at the Moulin Rouge in 1892 and could imitate gunfire, smoke
cigarettes and play tunes on a tin flute. He drew in more of a crowd than Sarah Bernhardt, a very famous
actress, could at that time.
A Defiant Fart
In a 14th century French Tale The Peasant's Fart, a man was in so much pain with indigestion that he
thought he was going to die and took to his bed. The devil sent a minion up to earth with a sack, so the
man's soul could be caught the second it left the body. A huge fit shook the man's body and the demon held
out the sack hopefully and was delighted to feel it presently fill. Without a backward glance he returned to
hell and presented his master with the sack. The Devil opened it and a revolting smell wafted throughout the
realm of the damned. The ‘dying’ man had found relief... in an enormous fart!
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An Artistocratic Fart
Edward Lear, the nineteenth century nonsense poet who was widely known for his limericks, loved to tell the
story of a Duchess who was prone to flatulence. One day at a dinner party she let go such a loud fart that it
could not be ignored. To cover up, she turned round and said to her butler "Hawkins! Stop that!" “Certainly
Your Grace," he replied "Which way did it go?"
A Fatal Fart
The only known death by farting was in 1980 in a hospital in Denmark. Surgeons were using a new electrical
surgical knife which cauterized small blood vessels. Unfortunately the instrument ignited a pocket of gas in
the patient's lower intestine. The man died.
St Augustine, the Christian philosopher from the fifth century AD, claimed to have known a man who would
repeat the rhythm of scripture read to him... in farts.
Claudius Caesar, Roman Emperor (41-54 AD) said that "All citizens shall be allowed to pass gas wherever
necessary."
What kind of farter are you?
Find the month you were born to discover what kind of farter you are!
JANUARY
NEW YEAR FARTER
The freshest farter of them all.
FEBRUARY
HONEST FARTER
Farts and blames it on the dog.
MARCH
LIVELY FARTER
Jumps up in air, toots twice and kicks, all at the same time.
APRIL
FOOLISH FARTER
Farts and laughs, while others cry.
MAY
TIMID FARTER
Is emotionally shaken by the sound of farts.
JUNE
SCIENTIFIC FARTER Keeps his or her farts in jars with the dates on them.
JULY
BIG BULLY FARTER
Farts louder, longer, and smellier than everyone else.
AUGUST
NERVOUS FARTER
Farts very tight squeaky half farts and keeps the rest for home.
SEPTEMBER CARELESS FARTER
Farts in restaurants, shops and trains without even an ounce of shame.
OCTOBER
AMBITIOUS FARTER
Always ready to fart.
NOVEMBER
FIREWORK FARTER
Farts with a whiz, a pop and a bang.
DECEMBER
FESTIVE FARTER
Farts with a smile, but smells like sprouts.
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8.
SONGS
HUNTING SONG
There was a young prince a handsome fellow
Dressed in red and gold
Astrid his horse with lance in hand
He ventured out so bold
There never a fear came to his mind
Where ‘er he chose to ride
With a heart as strong and sharp and bright
As the sword worn at his side
Oh yes oh yes oh yes oh yes oh yes oh yes
He scaled the craggy mountains
And he crossed the rivers wide
And from the gravest danger
Never did he hide
He strode the forest at one step
The valleys he did tame
And all the goodly peasants
Did marvel at his fame
He took the stag fair by the horns
And wrestled to the floor
When the beast was all tied up
He gave it to the poor
And then the mighty grizzly bear
He felled with just one hand
He surely is the bravest prince
That ever walked the land
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There was a young prince a handsome fellow
Dressed in red and gold
Astrid his horse with lance in hand
He ventured out so bold
There never a fear came to his mind
Where ‘er he chose to ride
With a heart as strong and sharp and bright
As the sword worn at his side
SEED AND ACORN
Seed and acorn hoof and horn
All that dies must be reborn
From dusk ‘til dawn til eve ‘til morn
Flesh shall grow then grow forlorn
Love and anger joy and scorn
Soon must fade so soon must fade
For all shall meet in death’s sharp thorn
Then flower anew come sun and dawn
Seed and acorn hoof and horn
All that dies must be reborn
From Dusk ‘til dawn til eve ‘til morn
Flesh shall grow then grow forlorn
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9.
INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR RUFUS NORRIS
What is particularly fascinating about this story?
I'm sure that it is not the only fairy tale that this is true of, but during Victorian times (and subsequently thanks
largely to Disney), morality tales became fairy tales and then moved from the general storytelling tradition
into storytelling principally for children. As a consequence they became more sanitised. So what I
particularly like about Sleeping Beauty is that the original story, like many fairy tales, are far darker than the
story as we know it now. In this particular case, there is a whole second half to the story that people don't
know about. So it presents the opportunity of creating a production which people will come to with a certain
expectation, which hopefully we can then have some fun in blowing out of the water.
Have you geared the story to our age or do you think the moral and political questions it raises are universal?
I think there is a great value in trying to make it more accessible, I don't mean that in a simplifying way, I
mean the opposite really, accessible in rooting it clearly into personal experience. The argument is of course
that these tales have always done that and that's largely true so I don't think it's a question of one versus the
other, they have some very elemental truths within them, all the fairy tales, and they're looking at pivotal
periods of childhood often puberty and different rites of passage in different ways. But at the same time they
are quite simple, so in Perrault’s Sleeping Beauty for example (and also Disney’s and the Ladybird version)
the character of Beauty is fairly bland really, she's a victim essentially and very inactive, things happen to her
she doesn't take action. So what we've tried to do with our version is to give her a bit more background,
make her slightly more interesting as a character something that particularly young girls of today can identify
with in an active way.
What are the challenges of this production?
It requires a terrific amount of energy from the performers. There are also various skills in sharing the work,
in communicating so there are challenges within that. But the biggest challenge lies in the music. We are
doing a lot of singing and singing is pretty directional really so that is something we are still very much
grappling with.
Music is a really vital aspect of the show. I think that music particularly sung music that uses the human
voice (whether there are lyrics to it or not, and often more so when there aren't) is the quickest way to
somebody's gut. I think, whenever you hear text or words there is a process of understanding what's being
said, and understanding the nuance within that, what's not being said, it engages your intellect in a way that
music doesn't. Alternatively music goes straight to your senses bypassing your intellect and so with a story
where the stakes are high, where there is a lot of emotional ground to be covered, at it's best singing can
give an immediacy that you can't achieve either without music or with music that's coming off tape.
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Is part of the excitement of directing the fear of failure?
I think fear of failure is a terrific driving force, and obviously pursuit of excellence goes hand in hand with
that. This has been a particularly challenging piece because it's part devised, part written, and I've been
writing as well as directing. The real bonus of writing and directing the script is that you can adapt it
completely to this production, so if something isn't working and the actor involved offers up an avenue that I
hadn't thought of on my own when I was writing it in my attic then I can use it immediately. This way I can
bypass several conversations when I want to change something, and in this sort of process you change stuff
all the time. Huge swathes of text get altered every day and there is the constant job of updating and
realigning.
Has it been exciting coming back to Sleeping Beauty?
Oh yes. We felt we had created a good show two years ago and it’s great that other people thought so, but
perhaps more pleasing is that all the hard work that went into the first production can have a second life.
What are the main differences?
When we originally did Sleeping Beauty, I was working on the script right into the previews. We were fine
tuning the story all the time and it meant that the cast were under a certain kind of pressure. The ground was
shifting all the time. New ideas, new ways to include music, new problems and new solutions right up to the
eleventh hour. This time we are working with a script which has been tried and tested in front of an audience
so we started the process not only with great confidence in the show, but with a lot of the work already done.
This means that we can spend our time on really polishing.
So no major changes?
Well I wouldn’t say that. There were always bits of the show, I would have liked to run through the mangle a
couple more times back then. Now I have the time and opportunity
Such as?
Well strangely enough the very beginning and the very end. I don’t think I hit it quite right with how we told
the story of Fairy Goody and the casting of the spell, which is told as a kind of flashback. Now I think we
have a much stronger structure with a couple of unsuccessful attempts to rescue Beauty by unimpressive
princes. I think we tell that story much better. As for the end; I was always interested in going into the
second, often ignored part of Perrault’s story, with the ogress Mother’s appetite for Beauty’s babies and we
always knew that the second half would be darker and more mysterious. The effect we had on the audience
in 2002 was great, but again I thought then we could have done more with it and take it up a couple of
notches if we had had the time. That’s something we have had the chance to do now.
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So nothing added and nothing taken away?
Well we have lost a whole forest full of strange characters! We did a lot of work two years ago on who might
inhabit the forest and we came up with some amazing creatures with saucepans for heads, others
completely bound up with rope, some with rubber gloves for ears who squirmed and sang their way through
the forest. But having appeared in the forest at the beginning of the show in 2002, they were never seen
again, so we decided to put them back in their boxes. They did look great, but actually there is a serious
side to this, which is that I wanted to give the thorns more of a part in the story. Now the forest inhabitants
are the thorns, which makes a lot of sense. They are more intrinsic to the original story so it makes complete
sense to have them more prominent in ours; and of course we are having great fun with them.
Any feeling on in the round vs end-on?
Not in terms of preference. I love both. It was fantastic to develop this show in the round at the Young Vic
because in the round audiences are right there, in your face. They are very immediate; the actors can see
right in front of, and all around them what the reaction is. Maybe we have been lucky in that that was the first
incarnation; we had a chance to create the show for that audience in that environment and now we have the
confidence and have done the work to move it into a different, larger space whilst keeping all the detail and
craft and we have the opportunity to really develop the visual aspects and the spectacle intensity. But then
on reflection maybe I would say the same thing if it had been the other way round.
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10.
INTERVIEW WITH DESIGNER KATRINA LINDSAY
When do you start working on a design?
It depends on the project really. Ideally you want to have a month before you deliver the design. So you
have a month to get all your references together, your drawings of ideas, meetings with directors, model box
building, sketch models then more final models and technical drawings. I mean it does depend on the
project, with bigger projects, like with opera you could have a year.
I feel like a magpie whenever I start a design. I just collect as much as possible from every kind of reference
or colour or image or texture. Just loads of different things pile in. Then for me if you read through the play or
if you don't have that to read you have conversations with the director. I like to find something that for me is
the core of it; then everything can spiral off. If I don't find that I feel really, really lost. So I start gathering lots
of stuff but I need to have a grain in the middle that makes sense of it all.
And can you identify what it was this show?
I remember there was a meeting where I thought 'this makes sense to me now'. We didn't have a script and
Rufus was going away for a month and I had to finish the model so I thought 'ok, I've got this to hang on' and
it was that the central point in the piece was to do with the thorns exploding out. It doesn’t show up in the
design now as that idea isn’t used, but having that as something to key into, meant I had a language which I
could build the forest on, and the castle and the palace against. So my forest didn't just have to be about
trees it could be about mad energy. Early on we had all of these kind of thorny things but they disappeared
as we talked more. The thorns are still there as characters but not really in the set. At one stage we had a
whole canopy of exploding wood which was very raw and quite aggressive but it was vetoed! It was felt to
be too severe and also practically canopies in this space don't work particularly brilliantly. So we cut it.
Is that a feature of the way that you develop your design, that you may pursue avenues and then find that
the avenue gets closed and you have to change tack?
Yes. I think that's part of it. A lot of the time I don't mind because actually as a designer I'm interested in the
whole piece rather than just the visual side of it, that's why I like to be in rehearsals. A lot of the time I
understand why ideas have to go and I think 'ok that's fine, the ‘beast’ we are creating is slightly different and
it has to grow into what it is rather than be confined’. But sometimes it's quite difficult because you have to
solve things in another way, and for me I need the time to sit down and make a model of it so I can see it,
really imagine it to understand what I think of it visually. I need to think it through, as an idea and know what
it represents. Sometimes you feel like the idea’ has been compromised and you don't know where you are
with it anymore.
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Do you always design the set and costumes?
Yes I do. When I did television I split it up, but with theatre I always want to get my hands on both areas. I
am not the most technically skilled person; with sewing sometimes in a fitting the makers will ask me a
technical question and I think: ‘I don't know. I don't know where the grain should be and how we need to cut
it’. But for me it's really important that the whole world sits together.
Has it been exciting coming back to Sleeping Beauty?
Very much. I was proud of what we had achieved in 2002 and it was great to know that the worlds we had
spent so much time creating then would have the chance to live again.
What are the main differences?
Well the biggest one is the placing of the audience. Two years ago we were performing in the round, which
has it’s own very particular energy. Now we are redoing it end-on. And particularly in the case of the
Barbican it is a huge space so we really need not just to project the show forwards, but create a much bigger
stage picture so that all the audience can enjoy what is happening.
Do you have a preference?
No. I enjoy both, and both have their particular advantages and disadvantages.
In the round the audience can become almost part of the world. They see past the stage to audience on the
other side so the whole room becomes part of experience. It also means that a greater number of the
audience are in the first couple of rows; they are very close to the stage so it can be a much more intimate
theatrical experience which is fantastic, but it also means that the detail needs to be absolutely perfect. The
downside, which is where it is great to work end-on, is that it is more difficult to construct stage pictures. You
can’t guarantee that every member of the audience will see the same thing when you are working in the
round. It’s like putting a row of seats around a sculpture. People will base their experience on having seen an
object from different sides. With this version of the show it’s like a painting on a canvas (to continue the art
analogy), you know that everyone will access it from the same point of view so you can channel all your skill
and effort. You can also use the depth of the stage, and at the Barbican that is going to be huge. Look out for
what is happening in the distance as well as at the front.
Has that meant the design has changed much?
In small ways, yes; but not really. Anyone who saw the Young Vic production will definitely feel they are in
the same place. We very quickly decided that we wanted to keep elements of the round, musical toybox feel
that we had originally. This place from which all the storybook characters can emerge and play. I think I have
achieved that feeling with the new design. It’s like theatre in the round for an end-on stage.
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11.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR’S DIARY
Reading my journal from the 2002 production I was a bit shocked to see how much I had already forgotten.
One always remembers with a slight tint in the glasses but what I seemed to be reading between the lines
was the immense pressure the actor’s were under in creating the show. It all came flooding back. It is a really
difficult process creating a new show. Improvisation and creativity are the building blocks of the rehearsal
room. Every day something is being invented, new ways of doing things are being forged and as the weeks
progress, all of these elements are put into the melting pot of a weekly run-through to see which ones will
stay and which will go. This means that more than half of the creativity ends up in the waste bin. “Too long”,
“too short”, “not quite right”, “the same as earlier” or most difficult to understand “fantastic but somehow it just
doesn’t fit in”.
The whole process last time was about getting the show on. It is quite bruising
How different it will be this time. We know the script. We remember what worked well. Difficult decisions
about sound and light and staging have already been made, work on character and plot have mostly been
done. So what is it going to be about this time?
The answer is “turning it up to eleven”, addressing all the tiny bits that didn’t quite work last time and making
the whole thing even better. All that to do, whilst we introduce the new members of the company to the show
and deal with the slightly different emphasis of acting for a proscenium arch rather than in the round.
Weeks One and Two are split between the mechanics of song learning and getting to know or reacquainting
oneself with character. There is reading around the table whilst everyone ensures that they are clear on the
details of the script and what is required and some small adjustments made to the text. Some of the songs
are re arranged to fit the particular voices. The musical direction is slightly different this time since we have
the composer Richard Chew in the rehearsal room with us. So any amendments can be made lightning fast.
It is a much quicker process. This is greatly accelerated by three new additions to the company whose
musical prowess is phenomenal. The show is already starting to have a solid “sound”
The stage that has been created for us by Katriona is a fantastic development of the world we had in the
round, adapted for the purpose of playing straight out to an audience end-on. The circular world is still there
but tilted up like a cake on display in a baker’s window, but wickedly intricate. The “rings” tilt, twist and spin
and there is an understanding that it will be a tricky set to negotiate, so all effort is made from the outset to
address this. Warm-ups focus on the demands of the set. Character movement is checked so we will not be
demanding too much and the shape of the new play starts top emerge. Consideration is given to footwear
costume and props and the scenes slowly start to take shape on the construction which has been prepared
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for us in the rehearsal room. It is not a working replica of the set, but it gives us an idea of the levels and
height of the final set.
Weeks three and four are a continuation of this work slowly refining and building until we can start to run
whole sections and start to check timings and see how everything is hanging together. It’s almost like
layering up paint on a canvas. Whereas before we jolted forward in big chunks now it is a process of working
gradually from sketch to detail and it is a joy to see hints of the final product as they start to emerge.
We know now because of the complexity of the set that it is not going to be a straightforward technical
rehearsal. There will be a lot of things to correct and because the show is going on at the Barbican, not at
the Young Vic itself, we will only have three days rather than a full week to sort out all these problems before
opening. In order to make things more easy we are going to spend the last week in another rehearsal room
working on the actual set to address some of the physical difficulties before we go to the Barbican for tech
week.
A highlight of week four is a Thursday afternoon run of the first twenty-five minutes of the play to some
children from a local primary school. After watching they chat with some of the actors and have a walk
around the set. The newly written beginning of the play seems to have hit the mark in terms of the children
understanding the plot, something Rufus was keen to change; so a successful afternoon.
Week Five starts with some rehearsals on the final scenes building up to the first full run. Act one seems to
be in good shape and pretty much on target time wise. Act two falls apart a little and is long so that will be a
priority for when we get back in to the rehearsal room. First though a great sense of anticipation, because
starting tomorrow we are off for the rest of the week to work on the full set. This will be a real luxury but also
a real eye-opener. Many of the problems we will be able to fix but like the first time round we are going to
have to take the dustbin along with us and be realistic about if there are any teeth that need pulling.
Hopefully it won’t be too painful
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12. COSTUME DRAWINGS BY KATRINA LINDSAY
Castle Slave
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Thorns
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Goody
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Beauty
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Beauty
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Goody
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13. DIGITAL IMAGES OF THE MODEL BOX
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sleeping beauty

Transcription

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Interview with Jeannie Mai | May 2013