Bremen Town Musicians Script

Do you need fun short plays to perform with your students?

The Drama Notebook scripts are designed to feature ensemble casts, meaning every actor plays a colorful, meaningful part.

In this play, an old donkey, hound dog and a cat run away from their owners in a quest to live out their days in a famed city. Along the way, they encounter other animals who join them in their quest.

This five page script stays true to the original Grimm’s Fairy Tale. It is perfect to perform as part of a festival of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, or to introduce actors to the concept of using scripts and memorizing lines.

Excerpt from the play:

CHARACTERS

Narrator One
Narrator Two
Farmer One
Farmer Two
Donkey
Hound Dog
Cat
Rooster
Four Thieves

(A farmer comes onstage dragging his donkey behind him. He approaches a second farmer.)

Narrator One: Once there was a farmer, whose donkey had grown old, and could barely manage to carry the sacks of grains to the market.

Farmer One: This poor old donkey is no longer of use to me, and my pasture isn’t big enough for two donkeys. What am I going to do?

Farmer Two: I just put my ol’ Nellie down. That’s what. They’re no good when they’re old.

(The two farmers walk offstage.)

Narrator Two: Fearing the worst, the old donkey came up with a plan.

Donkey: If I can’t carry the sacks of corn anymore, perhaps I can go to the town of Bremen and be a musician.

(The hound enters and lies down.)

Narrator One: Right then, he ran away. When he had walked some distance, he came upon a hound dog lying on the road, panting as if he had been running all day.

Donkey: Hello there, hound. Why are you gasping for breath?

Hound: I am old, and growing weaker. I can’t hunt anymore, so my master wanted to kill me. I ran away, but how am I going to find food?

Donkey: I’ll tell you what. I’m going to Bremen to be a musician. Come with me. You can be a musician too. I’ll play the guitar and you can beat the drum.

Narrator Two: Everyone knows that being a musician is easy, so the hound agreed, and on they went.