This Is Where We Came In: Synopsis

Cast: 5 male / 4 female (plus keyboard player)
Running time (approximate): 1 hour 50 minutes - not including the interval.
Availability: This Is Where We Came In is available for both professional and amateur production.
Acting edition: Published by Samuel French.

Characters

○ Fred
○ Nell
○ Bethany
○ Talitha
○ Jenkin
○ Albert
○ Great Aunt Repetitus
○ Uncle Erraticus
○ Uncle Oblivious
○ Kevin on Keyboards

A sign proclaims “Stories Told Here Today” and a young man, Fred, waits by it. Soon the Players arrive: Nell, Bethany, Talitha, Jenkin, Albert and the magical Kevin On Keyboards. Fred seems strangely familiar - is he someone from the Players’ past or even their future?

The Players are not certain of anything as their lives are controlled by three eccentric, ancient Storytellers: Great Aunt Repetitus, Uncle Erraticus and Uncle Oblivious. These tyrannical narrators control the Players by making them re-enact twisted versions of fairy-tales.

Uncle Erraticus tells a somewhat inaccurate version of Hansel And Gretel, while Uncle Oblivious - constantly at a loss for words - then tells the story of The Frog Prince. During the story, the forgetful Storyteller lets slip that Fred is not really all he seems. He is the legendary figure Flavius, who the Players believe saved them from their lives of servitude once before.

In an attempt to quash the Players’ hopes and to destroy Flavius, Great Aunt Repetitus creates an original story that the Storytellers hope will consign Flavius to history permanently. She tells the story of The Enchanted Farmer’s Son, but Flavius’s ingenuity and the courage of the Players helps him survive the ordeal of the story. Having broken the cycle, Flavius gains control of the stories and decides the fate of the Storytellers himself. With the power of the Storytellers broken, the Players are free to live happily ever after.

Article by Simon Murgatroyd. Copyright: Haydonning Ltd. Please do not reproduce without permission of the copyright holder.