Script Spotlight: The Princess and the Goblin by Abigail Fleming

First published in 1872, George MacDonald’s fantasy novel The Princess and the Goblin has been loved by children and adults ever since. The book’s themes of honor and courage; good and evil; and friendship and family have left as much impact as the strange fairytale story itself.

Famed writer and theologian G.K. Chesterton said this about MacDonald’s classic work:

“I for one can really testify to a book that has made a difference to my whole existence, which helped me to see things in a certain way from the start; a vision of things which even so real a revolution as a change of religious allegiance has substantially only crowned and confirmed. Of all the stories I have read, including even all the novels of the same novelist, it remains the most real, the most realistic, in the exact sense of the phrase, the most like life.”

The book has also had a lifelong impact on prolific playwright, director, and teacher Abigail Fleming. Abigail’s father read her the story since before she could read herself, and she continued to read it many times afterwards. She admired Princess Irene’s bravery in the face of danger and her confidence in her grandmother’s thread.

Abigail, who has taught at a boarding school in Micronesia, at a public middle school in Connecticut, and at a homeschool co-op when her own children were younger, is currently working toward a master’s degree in Art History and Visual Culture. She began adapting folktales and fairy tales for the stage some time ago. With a production length of about 80 minutes, her adaptation of The Princess and the Goblin is her longest script so far.

“The most challenging—and fun—part of writing this adaptation was imagining the staging and trying to make sure that the rhythm of the dialogue and the scene changes would be doable for an amateur theater,” Abigail said. “I wanted to stick as closely as possible to George MacDonald’s story and characters, but I had to picture in my head exactly how each scene would work and whether it would make sense to zoom back and forth between settings or to combine action that takes place in one setting into one scene.”

Abigail is looking forward to seeing the play brought to life by a school, church, or community theater. You can also find her short script set called “Christian Skits for the Child in All of Us” in the script shop.