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Production Tips for
The Pauper Princess

by Holly Beardsley inspired by Mark Twain

It’s a classic story. Two identical-looking people from completely different backgrounds switch places. Rich swaps with poor. Poor swaps with rich.

Add a twist of Elizabethan England and you've got The Pauper Princess – a retelling of Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper.

Before Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne, she was just Princess Elizabeth, fending off suitors too old and too fat.

Theresa wears rags and scrounges for food. She’s so desperate she pretends to be a boy so she can be in a play.

When Princess and Pauper come face-to-face, when one becomes the other, when King Henry VIII dies and everyone is vying for the Great Seal of England (and we don’t mean the sea animal) who knows what will happen? Maybe Shakespeare has a clue…

Hilarious characters, fun costumes, it’s Elizabethan England like you've never seen it before. It’s time to Huzzah! And Par-tay!

Comedy Classical Adaptation

Average Producer Rating:

Home page for The Pauper Princess

Recommended for High Schools and Middle Schools

Tips from past Producers

We included some slapstick elements with the acting troupe, especially during their performance for the court. Costuming - we didn't go for accurate Elizabethan costumes, more general old worldly but they all had Converse/Vans/etc. sneakers under the long dresses.

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