Cannibal King By Alex Bryant 1 Cannibal King, by Alex Bryant This and other scripts and resources are available to download from www.alexbryantauthor.com/playscripts This material is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Cannibal King Runtime: 60 mins Cast size: 25-50. 5F, 6M, 10X, 2XF, 7XM, minus 5 or plus 20 XF/XM: Written as female or male respectively, but possible to change with minimal adjustments to script Introduction Cannibal King is based on the classic camp song of the same name. The song’s about the Cannibal King coming across a lake every night by moonlight to meet a sweet young maid. This play uncovers the story behind the moonlight visits: a story of a clash between the people of Freetown and the cannibals who live in the forests around them. Unfortunately, the camp song that exists in lots of different versions – the one I used featured bungalows and spelled-out words, so if your version is different, you might need to take these references out…and add in a few different ones! The characters are divided between the people of Freetown and the Cannibals. Freetown is an antebellum world dominated by two wealthy families: the Thripps, town-dwelling merchants, and the Oatsworths, who live on a ranch. The Cannibals are a tribe living in the forests nearby, with a fearsome reputation for savagery in Freetown, but who we soon discover are peace-loving but nurturing bitter grievances towards Freetown. There’s scope for lots of imagination in this semi-fantastical world; in how to depict both the people of Freetown and the Cannibals. The majority of the roles are cross-castable. This play addresses themes of colonialism, displacement and exploitation of native people, slavery and racial discrimination, albeit in an indirect way, so may be more challenging for younger groups. Please use as much sensitivity as possible when casting and directing this play! There are also two love stories which require actors who don’t get embarrassed too easily. It will work best with an age range of 9-15. The parts vary in size, but are as evenly spread as possible, with multiple ‘main’ roles, to ease line learning pressure, and even the smallest roles are written to allow those actors a moment of glory! Copyright and fair usage statement This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. I’m making this script available online mainly because I’d like to see it get used and enjoyed in other school, camp, or youth theatre productions. You have my permission to download it, tweak it to meet your own needs, and perform it. All I ask is that you attribute the script to me (and my co-authors where applicable). I would also be grateful to receive a donation proportional to the budget of your production: suggested donation £20/$30 to www.PayPal.me/alexbryantauthor (or use email address alexbryant@km-books.com). 2 Cannibal King, by Alex Bryant This and other scripts and resources are available to download from www.alexbryantauthor.com/playscripts This material is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. But if you don’t get around to doing anything, PLEASE let me know that you’re staging this script, because it’d make me happy to know that it’s getting put to good use! Synopsis If you ever get snatched, you’d better start praying they kill you straight away. Better that, than being brought before the Cannibal King… The Cannibals live deep in the bamboo forests surrounding Freetown, ruled over by the dangerous and fearsome Cannibal King. Usually, they leave the people of Freetown alone, which is why Mayor Thripp has something more important on his mind: marrying his daughter Catherine off to Richard Oatsworth, the son of a wealthy ranch owner. However, the Cannibal King hasn’t forgotten the townsfolk, and when he strikes, both sides are sucked into conflict once again. But a moonlit meeting under a bamboo tree has consequences neither the Cannibals nor the townsfolk could ever imagine. 3 Cannibal King, by Alex Bryant This and other scripts and resources are available to download from www.alexbryantauthor.com/playscripts This material i