Hey Diddle Diddle is the comical adaptation of the classic nursery rhyme. The animals, instruments, and dinnerware are finding it difficult to perform nursery rhymes day in and day out. They experiment with switching roles and learn a little more about each other. In the end, they realize that they are more than their roles – each one is…Hey, unique! A fun play for younger performers!
Andy Pavey is a commissioned playwright, who writes short plays for Drama Notebook. He is a student who attends UWC-USA. He previously spent nine years with Davenport Junior Theatre, the second-oldest children’s theatre in the United States, where he acted in productions, managed the props building, and wrote plays for young actors to perform. In addition to writing, Andy is an avid backpacker!
Excerpt from the play:
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Cat
Fiddle
Cow
Moon
Dog
Dish
Spoon
At rise: The cast is standing onstage, ready to act out the nursery rhyme. As the first line is said, they act it out.
ALL
Hey diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such fun, and the dish ran away with the spoon.
Everyone looks around, not sure what to say.
CAT
Thrilling work, everyone. THRILLING. See you tomorrow.
The CAST begins to walk offstage.
MOON
Wait a minute. Hold on. Does anyone here even LIKE nursery rhymes?
DISH
Well, they’re decent.
SPOON
Pays the bills. A spoon’s gotta live, you know?
DOG (agreeing)
Ruff. Ruff. Ruff.
CAT
The dog makes a good point. Why do we perform these nursery rhymes, day in and day out?
FIDDLE
Especially since they’re meaningless!
DISH
Mother Goose left very little to the imagination.
CAT
The woman was delusional. I mean, a cow jumping over the moon? Come on.
COW
Hey, you have NO idea how tiring that is.
DOG
Ruff ruff! Ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff.
The DOG begins “gnawing” on a bone.
CAT
You are so eloquent, Dog. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
FIDDLE (to the audience)
I could have.
MOON
The point is, why settle for a nursery rhyme?
SPOON
I’m a busy spoon. I have a big spoon family.
DISH (annoyed)
Yes, spoon, we are aware of that. We are very aware.
COW
There’s something about nursery rhymes that’s comforting.
MOON
Well, you know all the words!
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