Accessibility Tools for The Wagon of Dreams

Contents:

1. Show Notes - exciting/loud moments. Scroll down to read these.

2. Synopsis of the story. Scroll down to read this.

3. Visual guide. Press the button below to see this.

 1. Show Notes for The Wagon of Dreams

These are notes of some exciting/loud moments that may happen during the show, or that you may want to think about before coming to see The Wagon of Dreams: A New Adventure

The show is about 55 minutes long. There is no interval.
Characters climb the ladders and stand on top of the wagon. They are all careful, and safe.
The actors sometimes communicate using Sign Supported English, signing key words and phrases.
The characters ask the audience questions, to ask for their help, and ask them to join in with songs.
Nobody has to join in, but you can if you want to.
During the show, there is loud music. All the actors sing and dance in a few songs, where there is
backing music.
Badderman, the baddie, might seem scary, but it is only pretend, and he doesn’t really hurt anyone.
The Wagon (our caravan) makes noises throughout the show. These are short sound effects, and
they just show that the caravan is joining in, helping to tell the audience the story. It is not really
alive.
To tell the story, Nerthus, Baugi and Gorm pretend to be the other characters in it. They dress up as
merfolk, who have fish tails. These are costumes that the actors put on.
There are animals in the show, but these are all pretend – they are puppets. There is a big pink
jellyfish, a turtle, a shark, a giraffe and a crow. They are all friendly characters, and pretend.
The merfolk bake a rainbow cake with the audience’s help. To make a pretend rainbow, we use
colourful ribbons tied together. Two members of the audience help to pull out the colourful ribbons
from inside the caravan. The ribbon might be longer than you expect.
Sometimes in the show, the caravan will shake and rock. The shaking and rocking happens because
the actors are making it move on purpose. It is safe.
Nerthus runs around the audience with a mermaid puppet, and Gorm and Baugi follow behind her,
so they will come closer to the audience.
The wagon turns around twice in the show. The actors push it, and it is on wheels. The actors have
practised doing this, and it is safe to turn the caravan.
Baugi, Nerthus and the Fisherman make the caravan look like a boat. They do this by attaching
masts to the ends of the caravan. The sails are designed so they will not really catch the wind, and it
is safe to use them.

If you need help or would like to ask any questions, please ask the stewards, they are happy to
help you. You can recognise the stewards by their yellow high visibility jackets.

If you need to move around during the show, that is okay! This is a relaxed performance, and
we want you all to be comfortable.

2. Synopsis – The Wagon of Dreams

Baugi, Nerthus and Gorm are three friends who live in a caravan. In the morning, they wake up, dance, and get ready to tell a story.

The Wagon of Dreams, Cheryl the crow and Steed the giraffe join in and help.

The story starts far away, at the Great Rock, where the merfolk live. Merfolk are mermaids and mermen.

Seewedia, a mermaid, is upset. It’s her birthday – but the other merfolk have forgotten!

The merfolk bake Seaweedia a rainbow cake to cheer her up.

Next, we meet a Fisherman who is scared of fish and water. He doesn’t want to take his boat out to
sea. He says he will only get on his boat if a turtle sings.

Then Badderman appears. He’s the baddie in the story. He wants to own everything.

Badderman is afraid of jellyfish.

Back at the Great Rock, Seaweedia discovers a necklace. She decides to find its owner and it return
it to them. This is a dangerous mission! If Seaweedia doesn’t return to the mercave in a year, she
will lose her tail... and grow legs!

Nearly a year passes. Seaweedia is still looking for the owner of the necklace. She is very tired.

The Fisherman still waits on the beach. Then he hears a turtle sing! He realises he must take his
boat out to sea. He finds Seaweedia, asleep on his boat. He agrees to help her return home to the mercave.

On their journey across the ocean, Seaweedia and the Fisherman become friends.

Badderman steals the necklace from Seaweedia on the boat.

Seaweedia’s time has now run out! A year has passed, and she has grown legs.

Seaweedia sees a big pink jellyfish chase Badderman. Then she sees a shark who is missing his teeth. She realises that the
necklace is made of sharks teeth, and that the shark is the owner of the necklace.

Seaweedia returns home. Badderman arrives at the mercave with the necklace.

Seaweedia calls the Jellyfish to come and help. With the jellyfish’s help, they get the
necklace back from Badderman.

And that’s the end of Baugi, Nerthus and Gorm’s story. On to the next adventure!