James and the Giant Peach Page #4

(AUNT SPONGE and AUNT SPIKER lean against each other snoring very

loudly.)

Narrator #2:
But our dear James kept watch of this most magnificent fruit.

At last the peach was nearly as tall as a small house. The bottom part of it

rested gently on the ground.

Narrator #1:
But it didn’t stop growing, and by sunrise, the peach was a

massive fruit that towered over them so high, they looked like tiny creatures

next to it.

(The small peach tree is wheeled offstage and the Giant Peach is at last

revealed on the stage. AUNT SPIKER wakes first, and shoves her sister

awake. Both yawn and stretch and finally waddle their way down to where

JAMES is still awake.)

Aunt Sponge:
Now you brat, why don’t you go get us a shovel and right away

I want you to start digging great hunks of peach for our breakfast…not yours

of course, just mine and Spiker’s.

James:
But Aunt Sponge, should we ruin something this wonderful?

Aunt Spiker:
No. Not yet.

Aunt Sponge:
Why ever not?

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Aunt Spiker:
Because I say so.

Aunt Sponge:
But I can’t wait to eat some!

Aunt Spiker:
My dear Sponge, there’s a pile of money to be made out of this

peach. You wait and see.

Narrator #1:
News that there was suddenly a peach almost as big as a house

spread like wildfire across the countryside.

(The crowd of CUSTOMERS rushes down the back aisle, and lines up. Each

has fistfuls of money, which they hand over to SPIKER and SPONGE, and

then individually, the customers, walk by the Giant Peach “oohing” and

“ahhing”. They return to the back of the line to do it all again.)

Aunt Spiker:
Only one shilling to see the Giant Peach!

Aunt Sponge:
Half price for children under six weeks old!

Aunt Spiker:
One at a time! Don’t push, you’re all going to get in.

Narrator #2:
By lunchtime the whole place was a seething mass of men,

women and children, all pushing and shoving to get a glimpse of this

miraculous fruit.

Narrator #1:
And the money just kept rolling into the greedy pockets of

Sponge and Spiker.

(AUNT SPONGE grabs JAMES roughly by the arm, and starts to lead him

up the stage steps.)

Aunt Sponge:
You disgusting little brute, get out of the way and go to your

prison cell – er um, I mean bedroom.

James:
Oh please! I haven’t met any other children for years and years and

there are going to be lots of them down here for me to play with.

Aunt Sponge:
Cut it out! Your Aunt Spiker and I are about to become

millionaires, and the last thing we want is the likes of you messing things up

and getting in the way!

(AUNT SPONGE returns to taking money, and JAMES kneels on the stage,

looking below him at all the people in his yard that he is longing to meet.

15

Finally, AUNT SPIKER STEPS in front of the line. Everyone is quite

disappointed by her news.)

Aunt Spiker:
Listen folks! It’s midnight now, and we’ve got to shut down.

We’ll reopen bright and early at 6am tomorrow. If you want to camp out,

you’re welcome, but it’ll cost you extra!

(The crowd murmurs, disappointed. They turn to the back, and shuffle out.

JAMES comes down the steps, and approaches his aunts.)

James:
Could I please have something to eat? I haven’t had a thing all day.

Aunt Sponge:
No! We’re too busy to make food!

Aunt Spiker:
We’re counting our money!

Aunt Sponge:
In fact, as punishment for daring to ask for supper, we’re going

to leave you outside in the cold garden all night!

Aunt Spiker:
That’s right! While you’re out here, you can clean up all the

banana skins, orange peels and bits of paper that the crowd has left behind.

It should take you…oh all night!

(The two AUNTS link arms and exit out the gym door.)

James:
But it’s dark outside!

(While the NARRATORS speak, JAMES sits down, hugging his knees to his

chest.)

Narrator #1:
Most people – especially small children – are often quite scared

of being out of doors alone in the moonlight. James felt exactly like that now.

He stared straight ahead with large frightened eyes, hardly daring to

breathe.

Narrator #2:
Not far away in the middle of the garden, he could see the giant

peach towering over everything else.

Narrator #1:
And then all at once, James had a thought.

James:
Something else, something stranger than ever is about to happen to

me soon.

16

(As the NARRATORS describe the action, JAMES gets up and makes his way

to the Giant Peach up on the stage.)

Narrator #1:
Almost without knowing what he was doing, as though drawn

by some powerful magnet James Henry Trotter started walking slowly

towards the Giant Peach.

Narrator #2:
He stood directly beneath it, starting up at its great bulging

sides. He put out a hand and touched it gently with the tip of one finger. It

felt soft and warm and slightly furry, like the skin of a baby mouse.

Narrator #1:
Then suddenly, he happened to notice that right beside and

below him, close to the ground there was a hole in the side of the peach.

(JAMES crouches down low to the ground to inspect the Giant Peach.)

Narrator #2:
It was quite a large hole, the sort of thing an animal about the

size of a fox might have made.

Narrator #1:
James inspected closer.

James:
This isn’t a hole, it’s a tunnel!

(JAMES crawls beside the beach, as if he is going through it. He crawls

backstage, and the Giant Peach is turned around by the INSECTS to reveal

the centre of the Giant Peach, where much of the rest of the action of the play

takes place.)

Narrator #2:
Feeling brave, James crawled all the way to the centre of the

Giant Peach.

(Now that the centre of the Giant Peach is revealed, the INSECTS make

themselves quite comfortable. JAMES comes around the other side of the

peach from which he entered, and stops suddenly when he sees these

creatures.)

Grasshopper:
Look who’s here.

Ladybug:
We’ve been waiting for you!

Narrator #1:
James’s large eyes travelled slowly around the room. He took in

the strange creatures sitting on chairs, and others on stools.

Narrator #2:
Creatures? Or were they insects?

17

Narrator #1:
An insect is usually something rather small, is it not? A

grasshopper, for example is an insect.

Narrator #2:
So what would you call it if you saw a grasshopper as large as

yourself? You could hardly call that an insect.

Narrator #1:
James started to stand up, but his knees were shaking. He

glanced behind him, thinking he could bolt back into the tunnel the way he

had come, but mysteriously the doorway had disappeared.

Narrator #2:
Once again, James turned to take in the creatures before him.

Narrator #1:
There was old-green-grasshopper.

(GRASSHOPPER stands and bows to JAMES.)

Narrator #2:
And next to him, there was an enormous spider.

(SPIDER does a curtsy.)

Narrator #1:
Then there was a giant ladybug with nine black spots on her

scarlet shell.

(LADYBUG curtsies as well.)

Narrator #2:
Nearby, reclining comfortably there was a centipede.

(CENTIPEDE does not stand but waves from where he is seated.)

Narrator #1:
Beside him, was an Earthworm. And as everyone knows,

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