Accessibility tools for “The Elves and the Shoemaker”

Here you can find information about what to expect when you come to see our show “Elves”.

There are three things:

1. A Synopsis of the story. Scroll down to see this.

2. Show notes about loud and exciting moments in the show. Scroll down to see this.

3. A visual guide about what you will see when you come to the show. Click the button below to see this.

Click on the blue text below to see a visual guide to “The Elves and the Shoemaker”

All our performances are relaxed.

If you would like any more information or to chat to us about the show, please email info@jellyfishtheatre.com.

 “The Elves and the Shoemaker” - Synopsis

A short version of the story

There are two elves called Elvis and Nimiel. They live in the elf kingdom. They love playing games and dancing. They have hats but they don’t have any coats or shoes. Elves are only allowed clothes that are given to them as presents.

One day they get a message on the radio that says they must go to the last shop in Leather Street and help a poor shoemaker make his shoes.

Elvis doesn’t want to go. He is fed up of helping other people all the time. Nimiel persuades Elvis and they set off for Leather Street.

Meanwhile, the shoemaker is tired. His customers have made him work too hard. He couldn’t finish all their shoes in time and so they left. Now he only has one piece of leather to make one last pair of shoes. He lays it out on his workbench and decides to go to bed and make the shoes the next day.

Elvis and Nimiel arrive at the shoemaker’s workshop. They make the shoes.

In the morning a man is out walking his dog. His feet hurt and he sees the shoemaker’s shop. He rings the bell. At first the shoemaker says he has no shoes ready, but the man sees the new shoes. The shoemaker is very surprised. He is very happy when the man buys these beautiful shoes.

The shoemaker goes to the leather merchant and buys two pieces of leather. The leather is red and gold. He lays it on the bench and goes to bed. In the night the elves come again. This time, Elvis decides to put a spell on the leather so that if you are wearing the shoes and you hear music, you will start dancing.

A big mouse comes and chases Elvis and Nimmiel. The elves give the mouse their cheese sandwiches and the mouse goes away. The elves make two pairs of boots with the leather. One pair is red. The other is gold.

In the morning a customer comes to the shop. She loves the red boots and tries them on. Elvis is hiding and he turns on the music. The customer starts dancing. At first she is very confused but then she begins to enjoy dancing. She buys the boots. The gold boots are magical, they can move on their own.

The shoemaker realises that the elves have been helping him. He makes them a present. It is a perfect pair of shoes each.

“Elves” Show notes

A List of Exciting/Loud Moments

The show is about 45 minutes long. There is no interval.

There are three actors: Finn, Catty and Audrey. They pretend to be all the characters.

Characters climb the ladders and stand on chairs behind the red screen. They are all careful, and safe.

The characters ask the audience questions, to ask for their help.

Nobody has to join in, but you can if you want to.

During the show, there is loud music. One actor plays the guitar. She sings while he is playing the guitar and the other actors join in. Two of the actors dance to a song..

To tell the story, Finn pretends to be the shoemaker. Catty and Audrey pretend to be the other characters. They dress up as the elves, who have hats with big ears. These are costumes that the actors put on.

Audrey pretends to be a dog. She dresses up. This is a costume that she puts on. Catty pretends that she is looking for her dog. She comes into the audience and asks everyone to help look for it. Nobody has to join in, but you can if you want to.

Finn pretends to be a big mouse. He dresses up. This is a costume that he puts on.

The big mouse, might seem scary, but it is only pretend, and he doesn’t really hurt anyone.

There are other animals in the show, but they are all pretend. They are puppets. There is a little mouse, and some spiders. They are all friendly characters, and pretend.

The actors have two puppet elves in a suitcase. They take them out of the suitcase and pretend they are flying. You might not expect the puppets to come out of the suitcase. You might not expect the elf puppets to come into the audience. The elf puppets have big ears. They are friendly. Sometimes the elf puppets pop up from behind the red screen. The shoemaker doesn’t always notice them at first. Sometimes children in the audience shout out to the shoemaker to tell him the elves are there. The shoemaker doesn’t mind. He knows that the children want to help him. In the end, the shoemaker meets the elves.

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 Jellyfish Theatre badges.

If you need to move around during the show, and go out of the room and then come back in again, that is okay! This is a relaxed performance, and we want you all to be comfortable.