Dinner for Lion Play Script

In this short African folk-tale, a lion disrupts the peace of the grasslands by randomly preying upon the other animals. The animals, wishing to safer, hold a meeting and decide to have a lottery and sacrifice one animal a day. When it’s Hare’s turn to be sacrificed, the small creature tricks the lion, and saves the rest of the animals from peril.

This classic folk-tale demonstrates the value of working together against an oppressor, and illustrates that even monarchies have their weaknesses and may be overthrown.

The script itself is only two pages long, so this is a perfect piece to perform if you don’t have a lot of time to rehearse.

Excerpt from the play:

CHARACTERS

Narrator
Hyena
Antelope
Caribou
Giraffe
Hare

Scene
Hills and grasslands of Africa.

Narrator: There was one place in the Seven Hills which the animals liked very much. There was good water and green grass. But a strong Lion lived there and he killed many animals.

Hyena: What are we going to do? If it keeps up this way, we will all be dead soon.

Antelope: Maybe we could go talk to him.

Narrator: So all of the animals went to the Lion and Hyena began to speak.

Hyena: Oh, dear Lion, it is not good for you to run and hunt all day long in the Seven Hills. We’ll send you one animal for your dinner every day.

Lion: All right, but you must begin to send me my dinner now. I am hungry. I must have my dinner every day! If you don’t send an animal to me every day, I shall kill as many of you as I want.

Caribou: Don’t kill us.

Giraffe:We’ll send you an animal every day.

Narrator: They held a lottery, and that day, it was an antelope who became the Lion’s dinner. And every day they sent one animal to the Lion. But the animals weren’t happy.