The Nargun and the Stars: the play - Teacher Resource Book

The Nargun and the Stars is a play adapted from Patricia Wrightson’s novel, first performed at the Riverside Theatre, Parramatta for the Festival of Sydney in 2009.

It is the story of Simon, an orphan, who goes to live with his mother’s cousins on their country property, Wongadilla. There he meets the magical and ancient creatures who inhabit the land. These include the Nargun, an enormous and threatening creature of stone and earth. Simon becomes involved in their struggle to preserve the balance and harmony of Wongadilla and to protect it from development.

The Nargun and the Stars offers a range of challenging dramatic opportunities, involving live action, puppetry and imaginative stage design and props.  This Teacher's Resource Book provides information about the background of the play and the issues it raises, and a variety of pre-performance and post-performance activities based on the play. There are also practical suggestions and activities for staging the play, and in particular the use of puppets which were a feature of the original production.