Ivan The Fool

St. Paul’s Juniors/Written by Paul Birch/Directed by Jonathan Boutead/2018

Ivan The Fool is an adaptation of some old Russian and Slavic fairy tales within an original framing device. These lesser known tales have been chosen because they are are slightly mischievous and offer the most opportunity for a spectacular performance by a large cast. As with all tellers of tall tales I have added my own touches to these stories and have also borrowed from other tales from Old Russia to give a brand new spin on some very old stories. The action of these sensational stories and some of the extraordinary characters should give opportunity for some ingenious direction and design as well as, perhaps, some mesmerising puppetry.

As the old Russian teller of tales might say, ‘People ask me if I dreamed all this. But I heard it from a man who said it was the honest truth - and so we must believe him.’