A two-act, theatre for young audiences (ages 12 and up) adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio.
This play adapts Pinocchio’s journey through the lens of gender identity; requiring three different performers, with three different gender identities to play Pinocchio as they try to discover what it means to be a “real” boy, or girl, or non-binary young adult. Using the foundations laid by the original classic, and healthy doses of both humour and pathos, this adaptation explores concepts of masculinity, peer pressure, and coming of age in our complicated modern world.
Keywords: Pinocchio, fairy tale, TYA, gender, classics, adaptation, large cast, childhood, puberty, comedy, teen, school, fantasy
Produced by Calgary Young Peoples' Theatre, Calgary, Alberta, December 2022.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Theatre for Young Audiences, Adaptation
Acts: 2
Run time: 110 minutes
Suitable for students 12+
Content note: Contains some swearing, scenes of peril
Cast size: 15 actors
Casting note: This script was originally built to be performed by a large cast of young people/teenage actors and there were 15 performers in the first production. However, the roles may be doubled/tripled to support a smaller cast of professional, adult actors (5-6).
The gender identity of the characters in the script reflects the cast of the world premiere performance and may be altered to suit the identities of those involved in future performances.