One-off workshop: Phillip Pullman's The Firework Maker's Daughter

This 1–3-hour session can be used as an introduction to the story before reading or can be used alongside working through the book with children.

These activities feature ideas for exploring:

• physical theatre
• storytelling
• character
• thought tracking
• soundscape.

World building

Using some delicious language from the first chapter, explain that we are going to explore a story set ‘east of the jungle and south of the mountains’, in the shadow of volcano Mount Merapi. A ‘beautiful but dangerous place’.

Discuss what kinds of things might be there, for example: stunning flowers that sting, or palm trees that can freeze you, waterfalls that wail etc.

Introduce the idea of Body as Prop and in small groups make these features of the world using only their bodies. Development by adding movements and sounds.

Next, add a separate narrator as Local Expert who can tell us a mini-folk story about each creation, describing and explaining all about it.

Plot and characters

Using Teacher in Role, introduce yourself as the expert firework maker Lalchand getting ready for the New Year Festival display. Using facts and features of the book, explain that you are making lots of new fireworks such as: Crackle Dragons, Golden Sneezes, Java Lights etc. and have spent many years perfecting your craft. You should model some clear gesture/motif to show the firework making.

Reveal you have a daughter, Lila, who is interested in making fireworks but you would prefer she didn't, it is dirty and difficult work, not to mention the final and most dangerous test – (whisper) every firework maker has to travel to the Grotto of Razvani, the fire fiend, in the heart of Mount Merapi and bring back some Royal Sulphur …

Anyway, no need to worry about Lila as she is going to get a husband and be a dancer … he hopes.

Discussion/Hotseat

The teacher can potentially answer some questions here in role, and you can discuss or weave in the following prompts:

• Would you like to be a firework maker?
• Is it fair that Lalchand doesn't want his daughter to be a firework maker like him?
• What do we think about the final test at Mount Merapi?

Create characters

Ask the students to consider what other fantastical jobs people might have in this place – dragon keepers, spell writers, magic grass growers etc. Then, individually create frozen pictures of these characters. Who are they? What are they doing? Expand these images into short mimes, and share, students guessing each other's occupations.

Next, ask students to add speech and create a narrated sequence portraying their character to the audience and explaining a little about their job, and any final test they must complete. For example: ‘I am a crystal collector; here is where I keep my treasures. You can see some of my most prized finds here: green ribbon gems, star sprites etc. To become a crystal collector, you must pass a final test where you venture deep into the rocks of Rienzi and …’

Fireworks: physical theatre and fabrics

Discuss what might make a great firework. What kinds of names might great fireworks have?

In groups, using Body as Prop and a selection of fabrics, students should find imaginative ways to recreate a firework display. Set some features of movement to experiment with, for example that there must be interesting transitions and levels, fast and slow moments, unison and cannon etc., and to include sounds. If you have sound or lighting available that would elevate this activity, making it tantalisingly theatrical.

Tension

Return in role as the father, and explain his daughter went missing. Share relevant information about the story, and reveal you had an argument last night and Lila might have gone to mountains to find the Grotto of Razvani, to complete the final test.

There is a note that Lila leaves her father in the book that you can use here. Discuss.

Though Tracking

Define Thought Tracking as, ‘speaking a character's thoughts on stage, out loud’. What kinds of thoughts might be running through Lalchand's mind? Create a still image as Lalchand students speak lines of internal thoughts.

Soundscape

Lila has ventured to Mount Merapi. It is a good idea to read some of the book here, from where she is climbing the mountain, up to where she finds the Grotto and goes in, just before Razvani is revealed and speaks.

Using descriptions of the cave from the book and students’ own ideas, create a soundscape showing what sounds might be heard there. Hear individual and paired sounds before layering them up to create a soundscape of all the noises together. Some can be repeated or made louder/quieter, there can be echoes, we can hear all, some or just one sound – the teacher acts as conductor.

Conscience Alley

Reintroduce the idea of hearing thoughts out loud, and this time ask students to voice Lila's thinking using several actors to show different/contrasting points of view, as she stands in the cave.

Scripted role-play

Using the dialogue and narration from the book, students bring to life the exchanges between Lila and Razvani, revealing a twist in this fantastical folk tale of morality.