The Selfish Giant

Fairy Tale by Oscar Wilde adapted by Amanda Holden for Narrator (actor), GIANT (actor), Children’s Choruses, Percussion Group, Flute Group and Chamber Orchestra. Amanda Holden’s libretto, based on the fairy tale by Oscar Wilde, was commissioned by Islington Eduction and first performed at the Union Chapel in Compton Terrace, London N1 in 1997. The composer was Jay Anthony Gach and the production was directed by Matthias Janser.

The Selfish Giant is suitable for full or semi-staging.

[The children’s choruses can be divided up thus: 1. school-children; 2. wordless bird and garden singing; 3. clapping or some-such for the wall building and demolition; 4. the winter characters; 5. the little child – who can be a solo or a small group of good singers. The wind group(s) can be the garden flowers, the bird(s) – with or without wordless singing from one of the choruses. The percussion can similarly be used to accompany any of the above, and especially the GIANT.]

PART I

NARRATOR
Every afternoon, when school finished, the children used to go and play in the GIANT’s garden.

CHORUS
This garden is large and lovely…
– garden music –
… the grass is soft and green.
The flowers are stars
that smile and laugh;
the trees wear blossoms
of pink and white;
it’s beautiful! It’s beautiful!
How happy we are today!

CHORUS
The birds are singing in the trees…
– singing bird music –
It’s beautiful! It’s beautiful!
I wish we could always stay.
Let’s come and sing and play
until the end of every day.

PART II
– GIgANTic music –
NARRATOR
One day the GIANT came back. ..