Not exactly a Disney movie, is it...

[Rambeaux]

Think of a fairy-tale kingdom, far far away. Tinkling streams. Candy cotton clouds. Beautiful castles with spiked towers and ivory coloured walls. Elves visit from their forests, there are unicorns and sprites and all sorts of things. The peasants sing as they farm the land. It's beautiful.

The most perfect creature in the land is the kings youngest daughter. She's beautiful, wide eyed, and seems kindly, with ribbons in her pretty red hair and always a songbird following her.



Things are not quite as they seem...

Let's be real. The peasants still have to till the soil and they pay taxes. Those taxes are not songs and chocolate buttons. Below the beautiful towers of the castle are deep dungeons, where they end up should they fail to pay what they owe. And occasionally, as someone is crossing a bridge late at night, a Troll reaches up a hand and ... well, that's the story of them. But even a fairytale land has to maintain its GDP and operate a policy of expansion into the Orcish territories. And there are other lands, less happy, and the king is talking about building a big wall to keep them out. That costs money. And don't get me started on the court wizard.

But I digress. Most people are genuinely happy.

The kings youngest daughter has a secret - she's secretly very sadistic. The maids know because they are the ones who have to wash bloodstains off her pretty silk dresses when she's been visiting the dungeons. The Royal Toymaker knows because where he once made dancing dolls and spinning lights for the princess, she's now asking him to create a similar but slightly different range of toys. With spikes, and blades, and unpleasantly warm bits. But still pretty, with music boxes and painted eyes.

I'm looking for someone to play the princess. You get to design your own toys and basically be Snow White crossed with King Jeoffry. I need a partner with a very good sense of humour and a streak of really dark creativity. To begin with, it's basically your toy box and I'm delighted to cooperate on world building. I'm after something that mixes the creepy with the fantastical, and as you may have noticed - perhaps just a hint of satire in there. I think her happy little world could be a fascinatingly dark place, but filled with song and pretty gowns.

But of course, things are never quite that simple. Because the kingdom is in trouble, and it's going to be her job, as the main character, to sort things out. Because her father - although he has great and unmatched wisdom - may not have the ruthlessness for the job. And maybe Karen, her stepmother, has plans of her own.

I don't think House of Mouse would approve this one...

[Rambeaux]

Bump