←Recommendations of Jill and Jack

I love twists on nursery rhymes, children’s stories, and fairy tales and this one is fabulous. Jan Probst’s creative perspective on a classic rhyme gives Jill top billing and no one breaks their crown. (No need to call “CA-VIN-RAFT. Coalition Against Violence in Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales.”— Love it!) Audiences of all ages will enjoy this brilliant play.

There's a lot of pieces which offer the "true story" behind some nursery rhyme or other; what's remarkable, and delightful, about Probst's piece is the sheer amount of ground it covers, and the many variations she's able to achieve on the premise. Gender roles, fear of failure, personal destiny and hydrogeology - Probst addresses all of these as easily and gently as...well, as a nursery rhyme. Enjoy!

Having written some alternative nursery rhymes I couldn't resist reading this one from Probst, what a great idea this is! The Writer allows Jill to turn this story on its head and along the way we discover their true friendship. Now it's left me wondering why Humpty Dumpty was even allowed to sit in the wall, was there no risk assessment done? Great!!

Nursery rhymes aren't supposed to make sense. Or are they? In this take on a classic, Jan Probst takes our centuries-old but never grown-up characters out for a reality check with mirthful and thought-provoking results. It makes you wonder what we've been teaching our kids all these years just so they can learn the lesson of how words rhyme. And not for nothing do we find out the awful truth.

Life is full of repetitious nonsensical actions that we grudgingly perform daily, because that's what's expected of us. Jan Probst takes this axiom to task and lets us see there is another way to do things. And she does it with one of the most familiar forms around, the nursery rhyme characters of Jack and Jill. Or in this case, letting her put her best foot forward, Jill and Jack. There is a nice bit about Jack's motivation which prevents him from being a one-dimensional character though and leaves both characters with their dignity intact.

Jill and Jack confronts the sisyphean tasks that our nursery rhyme characters must carry out over the centuries with banal precision. However, with Jill in the leading role and taking control, the ever-bruised-and-broken pair have a chance to change their lives. It's a delight to read and would be even better to see!