(suitable for Festivals,
translated in English )
A Forgotten Fairytale
RIQUET OF THE
TUFT
The Forgotten Fairytale (Ricky
of the Tuft)
Onny Huisink received a Certificate of Recognition for his Puppet Theatre Design From The Arlyn Award Society for this production.
© Dirk Buwalda
'Riquet with the Tuft’ is based on a unknown fairytale by Charles Perrault. We know Charles Perrault as the collector of the Tales of Mother Goose. The most famous are Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Bluebeard and Puss in Boots.
Riquet (Ricky) of the Tuft is one of the unknown fairytales. You can read the original version here: (http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/perrault/rickyofthetuft.html)
As you can read in the original version the beautiful dumb princess has a twin sister. Half way this character isn't mentioned anymore. The playwright Saskia Janse chose for a comeback for the twin sister, the ugly and clever princess, who will play an important role.
The production is also suitable for deaf spectators, as one of the actors plays and tells the story in sign-language.
Merel Naomi van Zuilen plays in Sign Language
The theme of the play is beauty and intelligence: Is your life happier when you are born with a beautiful face and is being sharp-witted not that important in fact?
One bright day in early spring three royal children are born. Baby-prince Riquet unfortunately proves so ugly that everyone casting a glance inside his cradle gets a fright. But ugly though he may be, his cleverness outwits everybody. In a neighboring realm that same day two princesses enter into this world. And it soon appears, that there too a few things don’t come as expected. Isabel, the first princess, is so beautiful that no room is left for any brains. Her twin sister Claudia on the other hand possesses all the cleverness the first one misses, but totally lacks any good looks. Fortunately, as is only possible in fairytales, a good fairy brings the solution. She makes two predictions. To ugly prince Riquet she foretells, that he will share his intelligence with his future beloved. Isabel receives the promise, that she will share her beauty when the due time has come.
The beautiful princess is very unhappy, because
everybody is bored with her. She is beautiful, but at the same time dull
and stupid. Riquet's love is blind for her though. He is willing to
share his intelligence with her, if Isabel promises to marry him
within a year. So she does, but as soon as she has it all, beauty and
intelligence, she tries to escape her promise.
In the meantime Queen Mother is planning an Extreme make-over for
Claudia, the 'ugly' clever twin sister.
| Actors: | Merel Naomi van Zuilen,
Désirée Snackey, David van Griethuysen, Wouter van Oord |
| Sign Language | Merel Naomi van Zuilen |
| Director | Onny Huisink |
| Script: | Saskia Janse |
| Choreography | Donald Byrd |
| Dramaturgy | Carel Alphenaar |
| Assistant Director: | Lise-Lott Kok |
| Puppets, costumes and set | Onny Huisink i.s.m. Geertje Masselink, Carla Kienhuis, Erik Koletzki, Peter van Assen en Rick Lautenschutz |
| Music | W.A. Mozart, sound design by Saskia Janse |
