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A one act play for children based on a Russian folk tale from the collection of Aleksandr Afanas'ev. First presented by the Kapiti Playhouse junior drama class 1994.
A potter,
Tzar Ivan the Terrible,
Baron Borovitch,
the Baron's servant,
a herald,
the Tzar's wife (Tzarina),
a serving maid,
a butler,
a cook,
musicians, dancers.
ENTER THE POTTER WITH A WHEELBARROW.
POTTER: Good evening. My name is Alexander Alexandrovitch. Look around us. We have the steppes of Russia. Hard work making and selling these pots all day. I think I'll have a little nap.
HE TAKES THREE SMALL POTS FROM THE WHEELBARROW AND PUTS THEM DOWN BESIDE IT. HE THEN GETS IN THE WHEEL BARROW AND FALLS ASLEEP. ENTER HERALD.
HERALD: Make way for His Highness Tzar Ivan the Terrible. Make way for His Highness Tzar Ivan the Terrible. I say you there, you are blocking the roadway. (PRODS THE POTTER WHO WAKES UP, YAWNS, SEES HERALD, GOES BACK TO SLEEP. ENTER IVAN, TZARINA, MAID, BUTLER, COOK, MUSICIANS AND DANCERS.)
IVAN: What is happening here?
HERALD: There is a potter in a wheelbarrow blocking the roadway.
IVAN: Nobody blocks the roadway when I am travelling. I am Ivan the Terrible.
POTTER: (WAKES UP) Oh Ivan the Terrible.
IVAN: I'll boil him in oil and have his fingers for my supper.
COOK: Oh, not potter's fingers again.
TZARINA: Now Ivey, you should stop being terrible all the time. You know it's no good for your ulcer. (TO THE POTTER) Don't be afraid, he's quite nice really. I should know, I'm his wife.
MAID: I'm the serving maid. He's really a kind man. You should never believe everything you read in the papers.
COOK: Such a sweet tooth.
BUTLER: I am the butler. I only admit the finest people to his residence.
IVAN: You must move aside and let us past.
POTTER: Certainly oh great king.
IVAN: You've been having a nap.
POTTER: Yes. Don't fear one who sings songs but one who takes a nap.
IVAN: You're a bold one. How long have you been a potter.
POTTER: All my life.
IVAN: And you support your family?
POTTER: I do, Your Majesty, I do not plow, I do not reap, I do not mow, and the cold does not freeze me.
IVAN: True, but the world is not without evil.