The Skriker Actor Packet

The Kind and Unkind Girl
While the two worlds of the play are woven together by magic and folklore,
one of the main folktales that manifests itself in both the Underworld and Lily
and Josie’s world is that of the Kind and Unkind Girl !or also, Diamonds and
Toads, as well as a series of other names". It is one of the most popular of all
tales with versions of it found in all parts of the world !Roberts 4". There are
many variations, including that of The Green Lady, but the stories generally
surround two girls whose desires and actions are either rewarded or punished
by magic.
“In #one version of the$ story, a young girl is on her way to draw water from a
well when she meets a thirsty old woman who asks her for a drink of water.
The girl fetches water from the well and gives it to the old woman to drink,
whereupon the old woman rewards her by
making jewels and flowers fall from her
mouth every time she speaks. The elder
sister !or, in some versions of the story, the
stepsister" then goes to the well in her turn,
but she refuses to help the old woman, with
the result that, when she speaks, toads jump
out of her mouth.
In Churchill’s play, the old woman of the
fairy story becomes the Derelict Woman,who
asks Lily to hug and kiss her. When Lily does
so, she discovers to her amazed delight that
pound coins tumble from her mouth every
time she speaks. Josie however refuses the
Derelict Woman’s request and,like the
Unkind Girl in the story, finds that toads leap
out of her mouth.
Lily’s role as Kind Girl continues when she
enters the Underworld. While Josie simply
wants to have a closer knowledge of the
Skriker, Lily both desires the Skriker and also