Prologue (Children’s Voices):
Gather round, sit down and hear our story,
Gather round, sit down and hear our tale!

Gather round, sit down and hear of monsters,
Grendel and her mother too,
Gather round, sit down and hear of fighting, drama and a moral too.

Gather round, sit down and hear our story,
Gather round, sit down and hear our tale!

Beowulf: In the darkest ages of our land
When heroes rarely came along,
Men were weak and few could stand
Against the Dark which grew so strong
That monsters stalked into our homes,
And many great kings were overthrown.

But fortunately for all concerned
I was born, a man so brave
That I the name of hero earned
By sending evil creatures to their grave.
Right amidst the battle’s storm
I was like a hurricane being born.

Two monsters foul were killed by me
That our people might have peace at last,
And I always wanted to make it three,
But since then fifty years have passed,
And I, Beowulf have become your king:
A good excuse to celebrate and sing.

Celebration (Tutti):
Time for a celebration laugh, dance and sing,
Beowulf has come back victorious, let your praises ring.

For the great things he has done,
Don’t ever put him down,
He is our almighty hero,
The greatest one in town!

Time for a celebration laugh, dance and sing,
Beowulf has come back victorious, let your praises ring.

Now our life’s a celebration,
Beowulf’s our star,
He is our almighty hero,
Proclaim from near and far!

Time for a celebration laugh, dance and sing,
Beowulf has come back victorious, let your praises ring.

Beowulf: Yes, some time has passed and I’ll admit
That I’m getting on a bit,
I used to have the strength of thirty men
Now it’s probably a bit less than ten,
I used to look strong and terrific
Now I’ve gone gouty and arthritic,
I think I’ve got a touch of pnemonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
And that’s a terrible thing to—well to find a rhyme for frankly.

That’s quite enough poetry. You get the idea. If you will indulge a washed-up old hero for a while, I thought I’d tell you a few tales from the old days about how I came to be famous.

Children’s Voices: Hwaet, Listen!
Beowulf the brash king,
Beowulf the bright king.
Listen!

Beowulf: Back when I was a young man there was a great and noble king called Hrothgar. After many years of fighting ferocious wars, he felt he needed to settle down to a comfortable retirement. And so he built a beautiful Great Hall where his people could meet, speak, feast, dance, share tales of war and sing specially-composed oratorios about celebrated heroes. People would flock from villages far and wide to see the majesty of Hrothgar’s Hall.

Choir: Let us tell you of the hall, you’ve heard?
It anchored all the world, you heard?
Its walls were faith,
Its gold hung sides were as warm as mothers’ arms.
Built of a king the great hall was,
A gift for us the great hall was,
It girdled all our people round
And bound us as close as bone.
To enter that place felt like second birth as a warrior,
A legacy for us, it made us all into golden men.
Even in death we pass through the door to light the torches and kneel before the king.
In death we sing its praises, it rises in our dreams.

Beowulf: Everyone loved Hrothgar and his Great Hall. Well every human anyway. But not Grendel. In every generation evil comes again into our world, and always with a new name and a new form. For Hrothgar and his people Grendel was that evil.

What was Grendel? Well to call him a troll would be about right, but that’s a bit of an insult to trolls. And it looks like we might have a few in tonight. He looked like a demon that had been crossed with a giant; a particularly cross giant. He was incredibly strong with huge shoulders and arms, and had sharp cruel claws and teeth. And he smelled appalling. The smell was due to his unusual diet; he ate humans, as many as he could catch and stuff into his mouth. And as evening fell he crept down from the cold moors, down to the world of men, down to Hrothgar’s Hall.

Children’s Voices: The battle comes.

Beowulf: Light, laughter and love were loathsome to Grendel. He hated happiness. So he set out to destroy it wherever he could. He attacked the Hall, savagely killing many warriors who had been feasting there and dragging their poor bodies off to his home: a haunted lake on the moors.

Beowulf: When dawn broke on Hrothgar’s Hall, the survivors stumbled out of the wreckage of that beautiful palace to count the cost. Unarmed warriors had been dragged from their beds and eaten alive. Those lucky enough to escape and brave enough to attack Grendel, said that their swords and axes had been useless: nothing was capable of piercing Grendel’s scaly skin. Hrothgar and his men were powerless. And Grendel knew it. Again and again he returned for more and more blood until there was no family in the land that had not lost a loved one.

Choir: Who’s there? Sneaker!
Who’s there? The dark star!
See Grendel burning in his sallow flesh in hell!
Do you fear him?
Does his bite still pain your arm,
Does his bite still pain your ageing arm?
Wicked Grendel ran your soldiers low!
Beowulf, Grendel is coming to hurt and to maim you,
Grendel is coming to kill you, neck deep in blood and in brittle gore, he will come to find you Beowulf!
Grendel is coming to hurt and to maim you,
Grendel is coming to maim and to hurt you.
Beowulf is doomed!

Beowulf: It was at this point, the darkest moment when evil seemed triumphant, that a hero came forth. He came from a land far away. He was brave, handsome and strong, with the strength of 30 men. His name was … well he was me actually: Beowulf. I arrived on the shore by boat and was taken straight to King Hrothgar. Hrothgar was an old man, made older and more frail by the terrible sufferings of his people. His beautiful young wife, Wealhtheow, greeted me kindly.

Soprano: Woes him se man to pon leof,
poet he pone breostwylm
forberan ne mehte,
ac him on hrepre hygebendum foest.

Beowulf: But not all present were so glad to see me. Among Hrothgar’s warriors was a particularly bitter and unpleasant fellow called Unferth. He ridiculed me, mocked my skills as a warrior, reminding me of battles I had lost, his voice spitting with poison and hate.

Choir: Shame on Beowul.
Beowulf: What?
Choir: Shame on Beowulf.
Beowulf: Who’s that? Reveal yourself coward.
Choir: Remember Breca.
Beowulf: How do you know that? Who are you?
Choir: You lost Beowulf.

Beowulf: You weren’t there Unferth, you lying snake. Breca won it is true, but it was just a swimming contest. I abandoned the race to kill the sea-monsters that would have eaten us both. Good prioritisation I think.

Choir: No match for Grendel.

Beowulf: I will destroy Grendel! Who here has shown the courage that I have shown? Who will swear to fight this monster?

Choir: Foolish Beowulf!

Beowulf: Silence you fool. Too much beer-drinking has made you boastful! But what can you boast of? What great deeds have you done? If you are so brave why is Grendel still alive?

(Silence)

Unferth? There was no reply to that. That night I took up position in the Hall with 14 of my most trusted men. I surprised them all by taking off my sword and laying it aside. They thought perhaps that Unferth’s mockery had driven me to be reckless and foolish in the face of danger, behaving as if I had something to prove. But it had occurred to me that everyone who had faced Grendel had done so armed with swords, axes and spears, and they had all failed. I dared to be different. I would try another way.

Children’s Voices: The battle comes.

Beowulf: Night fell on Hrothgar’s Hall and one by one all the warriors fell asleep. It was a still night, and as darkness settled, silence settled too. Suddenly with an ear-splitting screeching, like a thousand fingernails scraping down a thousand blackboards, the door was wrenched off its hinges. A huge shape rose up in the space where the door had stood, blocking out the stars in the sky behind. Grendel was amongst us. Men staggered back from the foul stink coming through the door. But they didn’t stagger fast enough. Those hideous claws flashed in the moonlight and instantly a man lay dead; sliced in two. Grendel pawed his lifeless body, saliva drooling from his mouth. But before he could cram his face with the poor man’s flesh, he found his arm caught from behind. By me. He whirled round to face me and as he flung his other arm to strike me I caught that too and he were locked in a horrendous sort of a hug. Grendel kicked out at me, but I clung on. His talons scraped and cut deep into my armour, drawing sparks, but I didn’t loosen my grasp. I grappled with him, trying to pin him to the floor.

Choir: Grendel is coming!
Beowulf set out his army to fight the beast but Grendel attacked Beowulf and his warriors, slaying the warriors, tearing them up like meat.
Grendel is coming.
Just like a wolf he came, big, bad and unafraid.
Grendel is here! His teeth, his fire!
And from the fog he arose,
Grendel is here!
Staring back with grinning teeth, was the face of Grendel, squaring up he took a swipe, slaying brave warriors dead!
Grendel is here, wash with blood, we have no fear, flash falling, we will end him here.
We will fight him, we will end him.

Beowulf: Grendel began to panic, longing to be out of the Hall and running back to his home on the moors. With a desperate lunge he wrenched himself free and with a sickening grinding and tearing sound, his huge arm broke off his body at the shoulder. Grendel was free, but he had paid a terrible price. His arm, shoulder to finger-tip dangled in my iron grasp. Grendel ran in agony from the Hall, blood gushing uncontrollably from his terrible wound. He fled out into the dark moors and when he reached the haunted lake he plunged to its depths and with his dying breath he sang a strange lament …

Children’s Voices:
I miss the revelry, I miss the firelight
I miss the banquet hall,
How well I had it made
When I was ruler and King.

I miss the stone towers
I miss the patterned wood,
I miss the arches
How well I had them made
When I was ruler and King.
I miss the gardens, I miss the stables
I miss the palace grounds
How well I had them made
When I was ruler and King.

I miss the village folk
I miss their carefree ways
I miss their love and song,
How well we had it made
When I was ruler and King.

Beowulf: The curse of Grendel was gone. Hrothgars’s Hall was ours once more. It was a night for celebration. Someone took Grendel’s arm from my hand and replaced it with a mug of foaming beer. And that huge severed arm was hung from the roof as a trophy of my victory.

Beowulf: It was just the right moment for a speech. And who better than me to make it?

Choir: My dear men, my brothers in arms, a new dawn has broken.
If we can summon the spirit, and the vigour, then we’ll win the battle.
My brothers in arms, a new dawn has broken, so we’ll win the battle!

Beowulf: My dear men, my brothers in arms, a new dawn has broken. Although I am only a man, I fought with courage against this monster. I held no weapons, but used only the strength that was in me. I trusted in myself. I have destroyed this terror from the darkness. If we all summon this spirit and this strength then we will win all of the battles that will come. If we can take down Grendel we can take down any evil thing and live in peace and safety for the rest of our days.

Children’s Voices: The battle comes.

Beowulf: It was quite a party. I didn’t think I’d drunk that much but I seem to remember I woke up in a pig-sty. I was just in the process of removing a gently snoring porker from my chest when one of my men ran over. Tragedy had struck yet again. One of Hrothgar’s most loyal and trusted warriors, a man called Aeschere, had been dragged from his bed and murdered in the night. Men spoke of seeing a beast of great evil, greater even than Grendel; a Bride of Hell. Grendel’s Mother. She had been followed up to the haunted lake where her hideous son had plunged with his dying breath. I knew that I must follow her. I had to rid the world of this foul family. Just then someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was that mocking fool Unferth. But now he spoke to me humbly.

Choir: For you Beowulf, I present my sword, a rare and ancient sword, it has never failed.
At the moment of need, it is of no small importance.
An iron blade for you, Beowulf.

Beowulf: I gladly took Unferth’s sword from him. It was a noble gift. Now I was armed I rode out to the haunted lake and without hesitation dived in. The water was seething with all kinds of strange snake-like creatures, and they weren’t exactly pleased to see me. They were even less pleased to see Unferth’s sword, and I hacked my way through them and so reached a cave where I came face to face with Mrs Grendel.

Soprano: Hateful little king!
Spiteful little king!
Vengeful little king, who took my son away, my darling child.
Damn you Beowulf!
You who killed my son and said it was a noble act, a righteous act!
No man can cure a mother’s bile!
No man can take away the grief!
No man can rectify the pain!
No golden sword can mend the damage you have done to me!
My monster boy, he was so precious, my charming son, I will have you!
You think your savagery balances the world?
You think we are all dark reflections.
You think your sacred sword puts right in the world?
Hateful little king! Spiteful little king!
Vengeful little king, who took my son!

Beowulf: Whatever good features Grendel may have had, he must have inherited them from his father. Grendel’s Mother set new standards in ugliness. I felt my best answer to her bitter words would be delivered via my sword. But Unferth’s blade wasn’t any use. It barely made a dent. It just bounced off her. I threw it down and quickly searched the cave for something better. Lying among all the bones of the Grendel family’s unfortunate guests there was an enormous blade—made by giants it seemed. I grasped it gladly, just as Grendel’s Mother was coming in for a killing blow with her wicked-looking knife. I swung the giant sword it in a huge high arc and walloped off her head. Blessed silence! I thought I’d never shut her up. However her blood was so vile and poisonous that even this ancient giant-made sword dissolved into thin air. Dragging her head I made my way back to Hrothgar’s Hall. The celebration for Grendel’s death had been sensational. Men thought no party could ever be better. They were wrong.

Tutti: Rise up! Rise up!
Rise up, rise up for the King!
Rise up! Rise up!
Rise up and with us sing.
Our King, is here!
The good king Beowulf.
Our King, is here to save us all himself.

Yes here he is, old Beowulf!
Name and body both,
The King of Shields, a powerful man
High warrior of the Danes.

Rise up! Rise up!
Rise up, rise up for the King.
Rise up! Rise up!
Rise up and with us sing.

Though he is old now and infirm,
Sixty years in age,
Still he is harder than the rest,
And brighter than the sage.

Rise up! Rise up!
Rise up, rise up for the King.
Rise up! Rise up!
Rise up and with us sing.

Beowulf: As you can imagine, it was difficult for me being the centre of attention, I’m a modest sort of fellow. But people were flocking from far and wide to meet the hero of the hour. Fair maidens were queueing up to touch my armour, young lads were asking me to sign their swords, and one woman even said she was going to call her baby Beowulf. And it was a girl! King Hrothgar thought that the fame might be getting to my head, so he took me to one side and gave me a bit of a lecture.

Choir: Steady, warrior take strength, wisdom, lead in comfort take care, hero, fuelled in fury, you will perish, take God’s strength and fight with all the greatness that grows in your heart and guard the souls of all your warriors. Take strength as you command your warriors with greatness and with valour, and never be blind to cause. Command your warriors with greatness and lighten up the world from darkness. Beowulf, hold back your pride and fight with honour.

Beowulf: Did I take any notice? Noooooo. Of course not. I was young, I was a hero. I wasn’t very bright.

Beowulf: So that is my story. Since then it’s been peace and prosperity for all you lucky folk. Fifty years of it. I have done two great deeds; two horrendous creatures of evil have been wiped from the earth. It would have been nice to make it three but I’m getting too old for these heroics. One of you must now take up …

Messenger: Sire! Dreadful news. A dragon has been seen in our land!

Beowulf: A dragon! No one panic. If we need to evacuate the building just move slowly and orderly to the nearest Exit, floor-torches will guide you. Here give me that message. (reads) Ladies and Gentlemen, the situation is very serious. It seems some fool has stolen a cup from the dragon’s treasure-hoard and it’s far from pleased about it. It’s out for revenge. If we let this creature rampage freely through our land, it will threaten our safety and the safety of future generations. I have always stood as a shield between you and danger. I will do so again gladly, but it’s no secret I’m not as young and strong as I was. I will need help. Who will join me?

Men’s Voices: Listen to us now, listen to our cry Beowulf, we will not fight! You once sang of peace and you sang of honour, but you are now old. We will not fight the monster who will lay us down, we will not fight.

Beowulf: So be it. If none of you will stand with me I will ride out alone one last time to face evil. But listen to what I have said tonight and learn from it. Evil is never truly banished from the world. We can only hope for a time to hold it back, to push it to the margins of our land,
into the wild places, the mountains and moors,
to the depths of the sea and its farthest shores.
Oh dear, I’m getting all poetic again—it’s old age. Listen to my warning. Evil things will return, and then it will fall to one of you to defend our people; to be the hero for a generation. To be a Beowulf. And so farewell.

Children’s Voices: The battle comes.

Spoken Voice: So before we raid the dragon’s hoard,
Weep with me and lament our lord,
Build for him a funeral fire,
With the shields of the conquered pile it higher;
A golden beacon to light the sky
And bid our lord a last goodbye.
He was our shield against the dark,
Amongst murky evil a fiery spark,
Extinguished now, we stumble on
And must find among us another one,
Another noble lord to stand,
Another great hero to defend our land,
(Or a heroine—for killing monsters that appear
Is an equal opportunity career)
Beowulf showed us it can be done,
Showed us how battles can be won.
So recall his deeds and the words he spoke,
And be a kingdom of united folk.

Children’s Voices: My lord has gone, has fled away
Over the sea, the break of day.
Found me crying for a prince
Who had left all at once.

They plotted together his kith and kin
They met in secret and made a plan,
To keep us far apart, away
From each other, night and day.

I sing this poem full of grief,
Full of sorrow about my life,
Ready to leave that cruel state
Which I’ve endured both early and late.

Spoken Voice: And so at last my noble lord,
Strapped on his shield and drew his sword.
Two great deeds he has done,
Two dreadful battles fought and won,
To achieve a third great victory
He fought the dragon for you and me.
Fearless he stood against flame and smoke
(He isn’t just some ordinary bloke).
He slashed the dragon’s horrendous head
And hacked again till it lay dead.
But the dragon lashed out with claws and tail
And pierced through Beowulf’s protective mail,
His ancient armour fell apart
And the wound went deep into his heart.
A third great victory he has won,
But now Beowulf, our king, is gone.

Tutti: They mourn for their lord and they sing his praises still, lament why he had to die, his blood to spill, why that fearful monster had to kill. The wailing war heroes cried in their hands, for their famous chief known through the whole land then they lit the flame upon the stand. The folk of the Geatmen then ready got their king. With heavy heart they covered him in earth, strong for the burning, and the smoke cloud then ascended, the sad and roaring fire, and sent his soul up soaring to heaven to glory in the stars! And the sad and roaring fire that sent him to heaven. Beowulf, our hero now, you have made your name with glory in the stars.