A Victorian play for Juniors

Scene 3 Physical World Ropner park _Official Opening 1893 Grand opening jamboree. All the fireworks etc took place in the evening and I expect the actual opening took place during the daytime - which will help cut down the special effects!!. Lots of populace on stage, some gentry, some dressed poorly, shawls and bonnets for the women, jackets and worn trousers for the men. Centre stage the Duke and Duchess of York being bowed to and curtsied as they move about. There should be a raised dais at the back of the stage towards which the Duke and Duchess are moving. 'Middle-aged' Sir Robert and his wife are with them. Stage right two councillors look on.
MR BIRCH	Enjoying the show eh Flood?
MR FLOOD	Ay he's a grand fellow that Colonel Ropner. It's just what this town needs - a park. Said so for a long time.
MR BIRCH	Ay, he's very generous, but then he can afford to be..
MR FLOOD	Come come Birch, let's have no sourness here. There's many a rich man would hang on to every penny he owns but not our Colonel Ropner. He even paid for the Duke and Duchess to come…..
MR BIRCH	And what does that tell you about the future King and Queen of England? That we have to pay for them to visit our shire? And eat our food? And drink our fine wine?
MR FLOOD	Well whatever the means, they are here, and this will surely be a great day in Stockton's history.
MR BIRCH	Ay, he's very generous, but then he can afford to be..
MR FLOOD	Come come Birch, let's have no sourness here. There's many a rich man would hang on to every penny he owns but not our Colonel Ropner. He even paid for the Duke and Duchess to come…..
MR BIRCH	And what does that tell you about the future King and Queen of England? That we have to pay for them to visit our shire? And eat our food? And drink our fine wine?
MR FLOOD	Well whatever the means, they are here, and this will surely be a great day in Stockton's history.
Stage left a little girl is with her mother. The mother is talking to a friend, the girl is tugging at her skirt and trying to attract her attention
GIRL	Mummy mummy, who is that man and that lady? And why is everybody bowing and curtseying? And who is that man and that woman with them? Mummy? Who is it? Etc etc.
SALLY	What Annie dear, what's the matter?
ANNIE	Mummy mummy, who is that man and that lady? And why is everybody bowing and curtseying? And who is that man and that woman with them? Mummy? Who is it? Etc etc.
SALLY	That, Annie. Is his Royal Highness the Duke of York and his wife the Duchess
ANNIE	Mummy I can't see, lift me up, I can't see Mummy!
SALLY	(ignoring her) And the man with them is Colonel Robert Ropner and he is with his wife. He's our new mayor and he is the gentleman who gave us this park..
ANNIE	Mummy, why is that man wearing funny clothes - he looks like a soldier
SALLY	He's a prince dear, and one day he'll be king of England, and they like dressing up as soldiers.
ANNIE	Mummy why …………….?
(CENTRE STAGE)
DUKE OF YORK	Well Mr Ropner (he is not yet knighted),, or should I say. Mr Mayor this is indeed a fine show.

In 1857, a young man, aged almost 20, his head full of romantic dreams of a life on the high seas, wangles himself a job on board a freighter in Hamburg. The ship is bound for England. After an horrendous crossing of the North Sea the young man is thrown off the ship in Hartlepool, and he vows never to go near the sea again. He does not speak a word of English, and probably finds refuge in the Seaman's Mission. By 1875, he had formed the shipping company Robert Ropner & Co. which became one of the biggest and most successful shipbuilding and trading companies in England. He was knighted in 1902 and made a baronet in 1904. Having become a rich and successful businessman, Sir Robert bought a parcel of land in Stockton-on-Tees which he gave to the Council. "I think that a Park for a town like ours is most desirable, if not absolutely necessary, and I have, therefore, much pleasure in offering to pay the cost of the ground now under consideration, provided the Council will undertake to lay it out tastefully and keep it up forever."
A Park Supreme tells of the astonishing but entirely true story of Sir Robert Ropner (1838 - 1924). It is a remarkable historical tale of endeavour, enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit with echoes and repercussions in the present day. Ropner Park fell into decline, but recently Stockton Borough Council's Parks Department have applied successfully to the Lottery Commission to restore the Park to its Victorian splendour. So Sir Robert's dream of a place for the population of his town to play and relax is assured.
	This play was commissioned by Hartburn Primary school in Stockton-on-Tees. It has 4 excellent songs to illustrate and underscore the action on stage. It was first performed in April 2005.
Although this play is of local interest to schools and drama clubs in the North East of England, reading and performing this play will help to fulfil the following National Curriculum Programmes of Study for History in Key Stage 2: - Chronological understanding Pupils should be taught to: place events, people and changes into correct periods of time, Knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past 2) Pupils should be taught: about characteristic features of the periods and societies studied, including the ideas, beliefs, attitudes and experiences of men, women and children in the past about the social, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of the societies studied, in Britain and the wider world to identify and describe reasons for, and results of, historical events, situations, and changes in the periods studied to describe and make links between the main events, situations and changes within and across the different periods and societies studied. British history 8) In their study of British history, pupils should be taught about: the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings; Britain and the wider world in Tudor times; and either Victorian Britain or Britain since 1930
You can buy a copy of the script for £25. A cd of the songs costs £7.50 . To order, please send an email to enquiries@plays4kidz.com Thank you for your interest in my work. I look forward to hearing from you.	Now here is a sample from the play and a song Build More Ships

Scene 3 Physical World