Robin Goodfellow and Other Fairy Plays for Children

Robin Goodfellow, and other fairy plays for children – is a collection of six fairy plays for children which was published in 1918 and written by Netta Syrett, an English writer of the late Victorian period. This book is intended for children's stage plays. Of the six small pieces in this volume, three are primarily created as ballet frames. The author has written all the plays with the aim of simplifying them if necessary. Even “Venus and Cupid” (the most ambitious of the dance sketches, since it assumes a properly equipped stage) can be arranged less carefully than it is written, while “Queen Flora's Court” which provides certain acting, as well as dancing and “The Dryad Awakening” may well be performed outdoors. Old toys should be easy to produce without stage fixtures, and while “Robin Goodfellow” offers a little stage carpentry to enhance the effect, it is possible to do without them. “Princess Fragoletta” certainly needs something like drawing a scene, but it is easier to arrange than it seems at first glance. Effective lighting for a garden scene when it becomes "enchanted" is essential, but with electric lights and colored paper lanterns in mind, this shouldn't be an insurmountable problem. Gauze curtains, positioned so that they can be easily rolled up and down during the "magical" act, would do much to create the desired sense of illusion. In her previous volume, Six Fairy Tales for Children, the author gave hints on how to stage plays, and these suggestions are equally applicable to the content of this little book.