It’s a simple story that’s filled with human endeavour, emotion and grace. It’s a story of desire, of need and fulfilment, a battle against all the odds. It’s a dance, a ballet in three acts, beautifully scripted and choreographed with the premier dancers and the corps de ballet in harmony, at one with the rhythm and the rise and fall of the music. You can see it now, it’s playing in many theatres around the country and it will run for at least the next three years.
Act 1: The curtain rises on an idyllic rural scene somewhere in northern Europe at the start of the twenty first century. Prince Siegfried is celebrating his birthday with his friends from the nearby village but his mother is concerned that he is wasting his life and that he needs to settle down, get a job and find a partner. But he has a problem, his broadband connection is so slow that he doesn’t have access to the modern world, he can’t get onto job sites and the girl he loves spends all her time on social media sites. She is an orphan and lives far away on the other side of the kingdom close by the sea.
To take his mind off his predicament, his friends suggest that they go hunting and they grab their guns and head down towards the lake. Siegfried arrives at the water’s edge. He has become separated from the group when he notices a flock of ducks swimming among the reeds. He raises his gun and is just about to shoot when he freezes on the spot as one of the ducks is transformed into Odette, his girlfriend and he is unable to pull the trigger. They spend the night in a pas de deux and the curtain falls as the sun rises.
Act 2: The scene is set in a large meeting room in the palace. Guests are arriving for a gathering of the great and good to plan an approach to improving the infrastructure across the land. Siegfried gets up to make an impassioned speech to plead with the evil landlord Von Rothbart, the vision of Odette still in his mind. He begs him to invest in fibre, to put the needs of the kingdom ahead of his own interests but to no avail. One by one the villagers dance in front of the wicked landlord, trying to persuade him to change his mind but they have no effect on Von Rothbart’s icy heart. Suddenly, with a soubresaut the real Odette appears, she grabs hold of the evil Von Rothbart and they dance a pas de valse. This breaks the spell that had been cast upon the landlord and he reaches into his pocket for his cheque book.
Act 3: In the grand ballroom of the palace, preparations are underway for a wedding. Through the windows engineers can be seen working in a green cabinet, more pliers than pliés, enabling the village and bringing prosperity to the kingdom. Siegfried has found a job. He is working as a web developer from the palace and can now finally marry his sweetheart, the orphan Odette. The wedding march sounds and the young couple dance the night away surrounded by their family and friends. Von Rothbart has adopted Odette as his own daughter and gives her away and as the curtain falls everyone lives happily ever after.
The dancers emerge to rapturous applause and there is not a dry eye in the house.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 