The Giraffe and the Pelly

and Me

A visual resource pack for both children and adults with Autism,

Asperger’s, Sensory Processing Disorder and any other

associated conditions.

This resource is intended to help prepare any visitors for the

show and to help them to become familiar with the

surroundings and situation.

The Show

The show lasts for 1 hour and 15 minutes, including a 15

minute interval.

In the show there are four puppeteers and many

puppets. The puppeteers are dressed in black and wear

black hats and gloves but you can see them.

Recorded music is played through the show and the

puppeteers also sing. Sometimes the puppets or

puppeteers may talk directly to the audience.

For a Relaxed Performance the house lights will be left

on during the show and the auditorium door will be left

open in case you need to take a moment outside in the

box office area.

What Happens

The play is based on the book The Giraffe and the Pelly

and Me by Roald Dahl.

Billy befriends a Giraffe, a Pelican and a monkey who

own the Ladderless window cleaning company. When

they are asked to clean the windows at Hampshire

house they come across a burglar who tries to steal the

Duchess of Hampshire’s jewellery. By stopping the

burglar they are rewarded by the Duke of Hampshire.

He lets all the animals live on his estate and also buys

Billy his own sweet shop.

Characters

As this is a puppetry show, most of the characters

are played by puppets.

Billy- He is the main

character in the show

Other main characters are:

The Giraffe The Pelican The Monkey

Other Characters:

The Duke of

Hampshire The Chauffer

The Cobra The puppeteers also

play the policemen

Vickers the

Gardener

In this section information that is particularly important such as loud noises or

flashing lights; will be in blue font.

Play Notes

As you enter the auditorium you will see a building

on the stage. This is The Grubber.

The show starts when Billy enters playing football.

We hear a recorded voice telling us about The

Grubber, which used to be a sweet shop. This

voice is Billy when he is grown up. He is

remembering what happened when he was a boy.

The Grubber is for sale and Billy wishes he could

buy it and turn it back into a sweet shop.

As he kicks the ball it smashes a window in The Grubber and this makes a

loud crash, followed by the sounds of diggers, saws and hammers as The

Grubber is transformed. Various items come flying out of The Grubber such

as a bed and a bath, and we hear the sound of a loud radio tuning in and

playing.

A periscope appears with a giant pair of eyes and then

the Pelican comes out to talk to Billy. There is some

more loud music from the radio. The Pelican

introduces Billy to the Giraffe and the Monkey and they

sing a song. They have bought The Grubber and turned

it into a window cleaning business.

The animals tell Billy how hungry they are and all about

the food they like to eat and the

Giraffe sings about the flowers

she eats from the Tinkle Tinkle

tree.

She leans over the front row of

the audience, but she does not touch anyone.

A car enters, it has quite a loud

horn. A chauffer with very long legs

gets out of the car and jumps when

the giraffe approaches him.

The Chauffer invites them to

Hampshire House as the Duke of

Hampshire is looking for someone to

clean his hundreds of windows.

The monkey sings about how much he loves to clean windows and The Grubber is

dismantled. Colourful windows fly around the stage. They spin and move around

quickly. At one point Billy’s head is replaced by a window!

Hampshire House is revealed from behind a curtain. The song ends and the

lights go out.

INTERVAL – This is a break in the show when you can visit the toilets or get a drink.

Vickers the Gardener is climbing a tree trying to pick some cherries for the Duke of Hampshire. He is unable to reach them but when the Giraffe arrives she is able to pick the cherries easily using her long neck which extends. The animals sing their song and the Giraffe whizzes over the audience, but she does not touch anyone. The animals start cleaning the windows. The monkey sits on the Giraffe’s nose and the Pelican flies next to them.

There is a flashing light as the animals report that they have seen a man in one of the rooms. The Cobra appears. He is a robber trying to steal jewels from Hampshire House.

As the company sing a song about the Cobra he sneaks around trying to escape the police, who are chasing him. He bends into different positions. The puppeteers wear police hats and red noses and play the parts of the police. They have torches which they shine around. They blow whistles, shout and bump into each other while blue lights flash. There is also a searchlight that has a beam that moves around the theatre searching for the Cobra.

Billy catches the Cobra by trapping him in the ladder. The Duke is so happy that he asks the animals to come and stay with him at Hampshire House. He asks them all what they would most like and the Giraffe sings about the flowers from the Tinkle Tinkle Tree. When he asks Billy what he would most like he says The Grubber to be turned back into a sweet shop! A screen appears and we

see shadows of builders

working on The Grubber.

The company sing about all the

sweets that Billy will sell in his

sweet shop. Giant sweets fly

around the stage and we see

pictures of sweets on the screen.

Once the song is finished shelves

filled with sweet jars are revealed.

Billy gives all his new animal

friends a special sweet he has

chosen just for them.

When the monkey gets his sweets they are so hot smoke shoots up from

under him!

The animals sing their song and the show ends.

This is the end of the play.

The puppeteers take a bow.

If you enjoyed the show you can clap your hands.

We hope that you enjoy this show at

The Little Angel Theatre!