Robin Hood & Babes in the Wood
A fresh take on this classic combo of two famous tales, packed with adventure and laughs aplenty!
Legend combines with rip-roaring comedy as Robin and his trusted band of Merry Men try to outfox the baddie we love to hate – the Sheriff of Nottingham. Meanwhile, Nurse Nellie Nickerlastic is desperately trying to protect the Babes from the clutches of the Sheriff’s bungling henchmen, Snivel and Grovel.
It’s fun and frolics all the way with a hilarious schoolroom scene, not to mention the mayhem of Nellie’s haunted boudoir! Cram-packed with comedy, this true pantomime version offers oodles of Chorus involvement, audience participation and honest-to-goodness family fun!
Full cast and scenery requirements are listed below
Many productions of this script have won NODA and drama federation awards, including The Performing Arts Company and Spittal Variety Group (both of whom won NODA "Best Pantomime" awards)!
We also offer a “larger cast” version of this script with 2 additional Merry Men (1 male + 1 female). For a Reading Copy of this, please select Robin Hood & Babes in the Wood and specify “large cast version” in the message box on the order form.
"...If daft humour is your thing (like it is mine), then Ovingham Drama Group’s take on the classic tale of Robin Hood scores top marks. This production was a laugh a minute with constant one-liners throughout the pantomime. Robin Hood & Babes in the Wood by Alan P Frayn was a rip-roaring triumph.” (Hexham Courant)
Frome Musical Theatre Co
Sinodun Players
EXCERPT from Act I Scene 3: Inside Nottingham Castle © Alan P Frayn
| MINSTREL: | Down to the Goose Fayre merrily go, With a hey nonny nonny and a hey nonny no. Hither thee come and bringeth thy bow, With a hey diddle diddle and a tiddle-eye-po! |
| (SFX of an arrow being fired suddenly interrupt him and the MINSTREL falls forward, flat on his front, so we now see he has an arrow sticking out of his back. The CHORUS react in shock, then start to drift off both sides.) | |
| SHERIFF: | (Entering US with a bow) That seems to have done the trick! Well, come on, men – he’s making the place look untidy! |
| (SNIVEL and GROVEL run to the body and drag it off DSL.) | |
| SHERIFF: | I never did like minstrels, hey-nonny-nonnies or lutes! The only loot that interests me is in the King’s safe over there. I just can’t wait to get my hands on that dosh! (Calling:) Snivel! Grovel! Have you had any luck cracking this safe? |
| SNIVEL: | (As they come back to DSC) No, not yet, my Lord. But what’s the King going to say if he comes back and finds it empty? |
| SHERIFF: | Don’t worry – he won’t be returning. That Crusade is a foolish quest! |
| GROVEL: | But if King Richard dies in battle, you get the smackers anyway, don’t you, Boss? |
| SHERIFF: | No, it’s entrusted to those two precocious little brats! Oh, how it makes my blood boil to think of them getting their grubby little hands on that money! |
| MARIAN: | (Entering DSL) Ah, Sheriff, what time are we expecting Sam ‘n Ella? |
| SHERIFF: | Well, it was a couple of hours after dinner last time we all went down with it! |
| MARIAN: | Not “salmonella” – Sam and Ella! |
| SNIVEL: | It would be much easier if she was called Denise. |
| MARIAN: | Why? |
| GROVEL: | Well, then we could call him “Denephew”! |
| MARIAN: | Where would we be without kids, eh? |
| SHERIFF: | Sunning ourselves on a beach in the Bahamas, probably! … I just can’t bear the thought of them moving in and running amok in my castle! |
| MARIAN: | Oh, but I love children – you can’t beat them, can you? |
| SHERIFF: | (Raising his hand) No – unfortunately not! … But you won’t be spending much time with them, Marian. We’ll all be too busy carrying out Prince John’s orders and collecting his taxes. |
| MARIAN: | (Taken aback) Oh? But who will care for the little ones? |
| SHERIFF: | I’ve sent for my old nursemaid, Nurse Nellie Nickerlastic! |
| SNIVEL: | Wow, there’s a name not to be sniffed at! |
| SHERIFF: | She’ll be arriving any minute – we’d best go and get everything ready for her. |
| (The SHERIFF leads the way and ALL 4 exit DSL as the music starts.) | |
| MUSIC: | Number for Dame Entrance (NELLIE and CHORUS) |
| (The CHORUS re-enter both sides, setting up a grand entrance for NELLIE, who enters DSR to join them and front the rest of the number. Picture finish.) | |
| NELLIE: | (To the Chorus) I say, what a greeting! You may not remember, but I used to be your Sheriff’s nanny when he was a boy. |
| CHOR MEMB: | “May not remember”? We weren’t even born then! |
| NELLIE: | Alright, it was a long time ago, but I’ll have you know I’ve got some clothes from back then that still fit me today! |
| CHORUS: | (As they exit both sides) A likely story! … If you say so! … Tell us another! |
| NELLIE: | (Calling after them) I have – honest! A hat and a scarf! |
Characters
| ROBIN HOOD: | Our hero who becomes an outlaw. (Can either be played by male or female as Principal Boy) |
| LITTLE JOHN: | A bit on the daft side and not so “little”. (Male) |
| FRIAR TUCK: | The rotund holy man. (Male) |
| WILL SCARLET: | Another of Robin’s Merry Men (Male or female) |
| THE SHERIFF: | Ruthless, greedy baddie. (Male) |
| MAID MARIAN: | The Sheriff’s ward. (Principal girl) |
| NURSE NELLIE NICKERLASTIC: |
Pantomime Dame, nursemaid to the “Babes”. (Obviously, best played by a man) |
| SNIVEL & GROVEL: |
The Sheriff’s henchmen, typical panto-style comedy twosome. (Either can be male or female) |
| ELLA & SAM: |
The King’s niece and nephew. (Female and male respectively) |
| KING RICHARD: | Richard the Lionheart. (Male – smaller part) |
| POET or FAIRY: | Storyteller. (Male or female – smaller part) |
| CHORUS: | Townsfolk (medieval peasants and nobility) School “children” |
| DANCERS: | Featured in musical numbers as desired. |
Scenes (Notes on simplified scenery are also included in the script)
| ACT I | |
| Scene 1 : | Nottingham Goose Fayre (Full stage exterior scene) |
| Scene 2 : | A Plan is Hatched (Front of Tabs or front cloth) |
| Scene 3 : | Inside Nottingham Castle (Full stage castle interior scene) |
| Scene 4 : | Safe and Sound? (Front of Tabs or front cloth with safe) |
| Scene 5 : | Robin’s Encampment (Full stage forest scene) |
| Scene 6 : | The Schoolroom (Half-stage scene with MS Tabs or cloth) |
| Scene 7 : | Ambush! (As Act I Scene 5) |
| ACT II | |
| Scene 1 : | The Castle Gardens (As Act I Scene 1, plus Tower) |
| Scene 2 : | Nellie’s Boudoir (Half-stage scene with MS Tabs or cloth) |
| Scene 3 : | Back in Sherwood Forest (As Act I Scene 5) |
| Scene 4 : | Return to the Castle (As Act I Scene 3) |
| Scene 5 : | Not On Your Nellie! (Front of Tabs) |
| Scene 6 : | Fair Thee Well! (Probably as Act II Scene 1 or 4) |
AMATEUR STAGE MAGAZINE WROTE ...
"...The stories of Robin Hood & Babes in the Wood are often combined and this gives the author ready-made heroes and villains from the first and victims from the second. The author is taking nothing for granted and carefully establishes each of the characters.
Our Dame arrives in the form of Nurse Nellie Nickerlastic and she is appointed to look after the Babes, Sam and Ella. The village has been without a teacher for the last 10 years, so Nellie assembles a class of everyone who hasn’t been educated. This permits us to have a schoolroom scene where the puns come thick and fast.
There is much in this script to recommend it. I particularly enjoyed the business of the Sheriff’s henchmen, Snivel and Grovel, trying to blow up the safe and there is plenty of action and audience participation to keep even the youngest children happy. It is a complete script with detailed stage directions and suggested songs and this is a fine telling of this composite story.”