Buckingham
by Peter Griffith
The eccentric aristocrat Lady Bigmouth is touring Germany, visiting primary schools. With her is her long-suffering Butler Baxtiff, who has to do everything that Lady Bigmouth says. Also with her is Buckingham, Lady Bigmouth's pet guinea-pig. Lady Bigmouth's visit guarantees an hour of fun for audiences in the 1st and 2nd school-years – what happens when Buckingham escapes among the children? – and how does poor Baxtiff deal with the demands of his employer that he should find fresh food for the adventurous guinea-pig, or milk an angry cow to provide her with a glass of milk?
The play is written in extremely simple English, and is presented very visually so that even 6- and 7-year-old children in their first years of learning English can enjoy the slapstick humour. During the play the children have a chance to practise words that they will have been learning in their lessons – the colours, the numbers, the parts of the body, the clothing, opposite adjectives, etc.