by Joe Bromley and Willow Nash
Reduce, reuse, recycle… why these three Rs are as crucial to learn as reading, writing and arithmetic. And battling a dastardly litterbug pirate involves plenty of arrrrrrrrrrrs! An environmental quest using PSHE, geography and storytelling to save the day!
“It was a great show and the children LOVED it! Already looking forward to next time!”
Ms Packham, deputy head, Oaklands Primary
“Amazing show. Wonderful message and wonderfully entertaining”
Family, Redbridge Drama Centre
Created for Reception, KS1 and KS2
Running time 55 minutes
Whilst searching for hidden treasure, a famously selfish pirate captain has left a once beautiful tropical island littered with rubbish and its inhabitants struggling to survive. It’s up to Maggie and Roy to save it. The trouble is… they’re REALLY not friends. Teleported from their school trip at a maritime museum into the centre of a swashbuckling adventure in the Amazon, can they win the race to find the legendary gold – and restore the place to its natural glory?
Will Maggie learn to work as part of a team and become a true friend?
Will anyone avoid sinking into that squelchy swamp?
And will Roy ever put down his clipboard?
Can YOU help them defeat this dastardly litterbug pirate?! Join these colourful characters (and some perky puppets) as they set sail on their quest! Explore new habitats and learn about the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling; caring for endangered animals; and looking after our world.
- Pre-show activity
- Maggie and Roy have to climb a very steep hill on the island and need a marching song to give them a boost. Can you learn it and sing along to help them reach the top? It’s to the tune of The Grand Old Duke of York!
Oh, the famous pirate Anne
She fought ten thousand men
She marched them up to the top of this hill…
And here’s what happened then!
She pushed them off the top
They cried, “No, Anne, please stop!”
She didn’t care… they sailed through the air…
And landed with a PLOP!
Feel free to dress up as a fearsome crew member too! Arrrrrrr!
This show is a springboard into learning for the new primary curriculum. PLUNDERED! provides a thorough entry point into the environment topic. We utilise PSHE and geography in our storytelling. Our resource pack for teachers is a treasure trove of discussion points and activities in art, music, maths, languages, physical education and geology for use prior to and following our performance.
Working towards your Eco-Schools Green Flag award? Our show counts as topic evidence in children’s learning about the environment.
- Please may we have:
A parking space for our car
Access to a plug socket - Three smallish tables (they all get covered with cloths so don’t need to be fancy)
A chair (sturdy enough to be stood on)
An hour in the space beforehand to set up, and at least 30 minutes afterwards to pack away
Lots of brilliant kids in the audience!
“Wow, so amazing and I loved it! You two are absolutely incredible. So brilliant. Can’t wait to see more shows in the future. YOU ROCK!!!”
Hannah, age 10, Brentwood Theatre
“Lovely show. Very entertaining. My son [with selective mutism] has never laughed so much”
Mum, The Exchange Twickenham
“What a funny, fabulous show with such an important message. Thank you! We loved it!”
Family, Lyric Hammersmith
“Great fun for all ages. We had a blast”
Rosie, St Margaret’s House
“Charming! My daughter loved every minute”
Parent, St Margaret’s House
“I loved this show and I found it amazing how you learnt all of those lines and so much energy”
Cecily, age 9, Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre
“Magical show. We all loved it”
Yossi and Bella, Poplar Union
“Grace insisted on reciting the ‘reuse, recycle’ mantra on the way home. Congratulations for what is one of the best shows for children I’ve taken her to (well worth a second visit). The many shows I see who undervalue pace and slapstick and surprise (and message!) would do well to come and see how it should be done and how to involve their young audience and make them laugh. Bravo!”
Grace’s grandpa, Barnes Children’s Literature Festival
“Fantastic! We loved the way you embedded important lessons within the show in such a creative way. Very humorous, and amazing acting!”
Zakiyya, Adan & Musa, Redbridge Children’s StoryFest
“Fabulous show! Recycling message was especially effective – presented with fun and in great style!”
Parent, Redbridge Children’s StoryFest
“Another brilliant show, so entertaining and good fun; we came to see SUDDENLY…! and enjoyed it so much that we wouldn’t have missed this!!”
Sarah & Daniel, Redbridge Children’s StoryFest
“Loved! Loved! Loved! Very interactive”
Parent, Redbridge Children’s StoryFest
“Excellent show. Should be on the TV. Kids had a great time. Thank you!”
Y2 teacher, St Monica’s Primary at Museum of London Docklands
“We just thought it was fab! Kids laughed loads and were engaged throughout, excellent job. More please”
Home Education Hub parents at Museum of London Docklands
“We love your show, Maggie and Roy, please do it again!”
Y2, Seven Kings Primary at Museum of London Docklands
“We were SO impressed by the standard and quality of the performance. The children were still singing the recycle song back at school”
Miss O’Brien, Y2 teacher, St Joachim’s Primary at Museum of London Docklands
“I just loved it and I think that it was the best thing I’ve ever watched”
Angel, Y4, St Leonard’s Primary at Museum of London Docklands
“Thank you very much. Great show and important message”
Grandma, Hazlitt Theatre
“45 wonderful minutes of being a child again”
Grandpa, age 73, Chiswick Book Festival
“Fabulous, funny, exciting, engaging. Thank you so much!”
Parent, Chiswick Book Festival
“A great message – using the turtle definitely had a big impact. Mixing with the silly jokes meant they listened to every word”
Parent, Chiswick Book Festival
“We really enjoyed it, especially the egg part! Thank you”
William, Charlie & Jake, age 5, The Hawth, Crawley
“The looks on their faces were unbelievable – pure joy all the way to Year 6”
Bevington Primary
“Brilliant and bonkers!”
Parent, Devizes Arts Festival
“It was brilliant, the children all loved it”
Y3 teacher, St Augustine’s Primary
“Cool show for kids and adults to enjoy as family. Will be looking out for your next one”
Parent, Karamel Kids
“Elena wishes Really Big Pants could come to Oaklands EVERY DAY! #bigfan”
Parent, Oaklands Primary
“Fantastic show. We sang the recycle song all the way home!”
Janette, parent, Mill Arts Centre
“Funny faces on the time travel scenes were inspired. Thanks for a great afternoon”
Team Turner and the Joneses, Mill Arts Centre
“Fabulous show – lots of fun learning! Splendid acting from a dazzling duo! Superb”
Emily and Grandma, Cryer Theatre
“Fabulous, loved the show, perfect choice of songs. Loved the touch of education re recycling”
Parent, Cryer Theatre
“One of the best children’s shows I’ve ever seen – it was absolutely sensational and I can’t wait to see more from the Really Big Pants Theatre Company”
Loulou, age 11, Barnes Fringe Festival
“We saw our son transformed through the theatre piece – amazing to see his engagement with it”
Parent, Museum of London Docklands
“Thank you for your fantastic contribution to the Recycle Challenge festival! I was really impressed by the show”
Aisling, family festival co-ordinator, Museum of London Docklands
“A sincere story of friendship, teamwork and Roycycling. There’s lots of audience interaction and plenty of the cheeky humour you would expect from a company named after oversized undies. It’s not easy to create this style of pop-up theatre, able to adapt to a range of venues and hugely varying age ranges, and creating shows that can tackle varied subjects and different bits of the curriculum… a successfully sweet, educationally-focused experience”
FULL REVIEW
Children’s Theatre Reviews
“What a triumph – great to see the theatre so full of pirates! We look forward to welcoming you back”
Paul Hart, artistic director, Watermill Theatre
“Fantastic show. Great to have an excuse to dress as pirates too”
Samantha, parent, Watermill Theatre
“A great show, and what a valuable experience these workshops have been”
Mr Whittle, Y4 teacher, St Luke’s Primary
“A brilliant afternoon at the theatre. We sang ‘Reduce it…’ all the way home”
Paul, parent, Cockpit Theatre
“Thanks for making your shows with such love, humour and care. My six-year-old is still singing the recycling song!”
Sophie, parent, Gospel Oak Primary
“As well as the environment content, PLUNDERED! is also a great starting point for English (storytelling/drama unit). We all really enjoyed the show and making treasure maps while singing the songs afterwards”
Kelly, KS1 teacher, Gospel Oak Primary
“The audience included some children with developing English, some with short concentration spans and some who can sit glued to a screen but not when listening to a story – all watched you for close to an hour!! We really loved it”
Nicky, Head of EYFS, Gospel Oak Primary
“I loved it! It’s really funny and it made me think of things I’d never really thought about before, like how many plastic bags are floating around the world”
Tess, age 8
“PLUNDERED! is a GREAT show! It’s such a brilliant idea. Our planet is drowning in plastic. A turtle found on a beach in Mexico had 280 plastic bags in its stomach and had starved and choked to death. Millions of bottles and bags are used every day and the tiny amount of recycling cannot address the problem. Education is the only answer. Let’s teach our young children about pollution and hopefully produce a generation of kids that are aware and can teach their parents the dangers of plastic. It’s a wonderful thing Really Big Pants Theatre is doing”
Alison Steadman, actress, children’s author, and conservationist
