ANDY HEDGECOCK is entertained by a playful novel that embeds a fictional game at its heart
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The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children
Well-staged prequel to The Pied Piper lacks emotional charge
[The Belfast Ensemble]
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CONOR MITCHELL’S children's play The Musician is a prequel to The Pied Piper of Hamelin, known to most through the version by the Brothers Grimm and the poetry of Robert Browning.
Written, directed, composed and choreographed by Mitchell for the Belfast Ensemble, it's also an introduction to operatic style and convention, challenging children to embrace the power of music while also engaging in what is, effectively, a morality tale.
The story is of a boy alone in the world. Into his path steps a strange musician, taunting him with haunting melodies which entrance the boy. He learns to play the stranger’s flute-like pipe and, as his power and musicality grow, so his kind nature is consumed and he responds to the unkindness of others with harsh and devastating consequences.
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