Today we were up nice and early to get to Leeds for the first rehearsal of Ruby and the 13th Door, A new musical by Martyn Swain based on the Grimms fairy story called "Fairy Tell-True" which is about a woodcutter's daughter, Ruby whose family can barely afford to live is taken away to Cloudworld by the good fairy Tell-True. When the kids of Cloudworld misbehave Ruby is left in charge of Cloudworld and its 13 doors, with a warning not to open the 13th door! And of course she does and lies to the good fairy 3 times so is banished to the forest of thorns. Ruby lives there for many years, struck dumb by the fairy, and learns to sing with the birds. The young emerald Prince discovers Ruby and falls in love with her. The promptly get married and the Prince's love melts the fairy's spell and Ruby can speak again. Ruby and the Prince have a son who is taken away by the good fairy when she comes to Ruby in the night and once again Ruby lies about the door. The ladies in waiting then see Ruby crying at the window with the baby gone. They presume she has thrown the baby out of the window and Ruby has a trial for murder. She is announced guilty and is to be burned at the stake. Just at the moment before she is engulfed by flames she tells the fairy the truth and the kids on Cloudworld make it rain to put out the flames. The moral of the story is "tell the truth and you will be forgiven."
In rehearsals we sang through scenes 1 and 2 after we were given a full script and timetable of rehearsals. Then after a 10 minute break we learnt the choreography to go with the first sing the Cloudworld kids sing, Welcome to Cloudworld. It was a fun dance with partnerwork and skipping.
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