STORY & CHARACTERS

The Discworld

The Discworld exists on the edge of reality, it is a strange and wondrous place where mythical creatures roam the planes and magic is still a force to be harnessed. The Discworld rests on the shoulders of four giant elephants who are standing on the back of a giant star turtle that swims through space, it's seas pour ceaselessly over the rim into the void in giant waterfalls. When the sun shines through the mist a rainbow of eight colours hangs in the sky, the eighth colour of the rimbow is octarine, the colour of magic.

On the Discworld belief is a potent force, for example Death as a robed skeleton is not just a metaphor for the process of mortality; he really is a robed skeleton with a rich existence of his own. The chances of anything so absurd existing are millions to one, but magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.

As you can imagine, conventional wisdom gives up rapidly and goes for a drink.

The Story

Guards! Guards! is Terry Pratchett's 8th Discworld Novel and has been adapted to the stage by Stephen Briggs.

Terry Pratchett's infamous city of Ankh Morpork is under threat from a 60 foot fire breathing dragon, summoned by a secret society of malcontented tradesmen.

Defending Ankh Morpork against this threat is the entire, underpaid, undervalued City Night Watch - a drunken and world-weary Captain, a cowardly and overweight Sergeant, a small opportunistic Corporal of dubious parentage and their newest recruit, Lance-Constable Carrot, who is upright, literal, law-abiding and keen. Aiding them in their fight for truth, justice and the Ankh-Morporkian way are a small swamp dragon, called Errol, and the Librarian of Unseen University (who just happens to be an orangutan).

The Characters

There are six principle characters and numerous supporting roles:

Other supporting roles include a rather unlucky thief, CMOT Dibbler, The Patrician, a group of incompetent members of a secret society, the Librarian, assassins, wizards, guards, citizens, the list goes on!