The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents: The Play

by Stephen Briggs

An hour and a half long radio adaptation first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2003. Repeated on BBC Radio 7 in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Maurice - Harry Myers
Keith - Tom George
Melissia - Annie Rowe
Dangerous Beans - David Tennant
Spider & Mr. Spears - Michael Fenton Stevens
Darktan & Mr. Blunkett - Sean Prendergast
Peaches - Joanna Munro
Hamnpork - Rod Arthur
Sardines - Finetime Fontayne
Nourishing - Charlie Norfolk
Inbrine - Sandra Hunt
Storyteller - Rebecca Norfolk
Death - John Rowe
Other parts - The cast

Script - Peter Kerry
Music - Rick Juckes
Technical Presentation - David Fleming Williams
Directed by Chris Wallis

A Watershed production for the BBC

Genres: Fantasy, Plays, Fiction, Humor, School, Childrens, Comedy

Unknown Binding

About the author

Stephen Briggs is a British writer of subsidiary works and merchandise surrounding Terry Pratchett's comic fantasy Discworld. He is also a narrator of many Discworld audiobooks
who graduated from Curtin University with a double major in Theatre Arts and Creative Writing before attending WAPPA and studying Broadcasting. Midway through his time there he decided he didn't want to be a journo and moved to Sydney to join RMK Voice Productions. Stephen has voiced countless campaigns and appeared in numerous professional plays. He has written and directed six short films, one of which, Whatever it Takes, satirises the Voice Over business.

Please note that there is a separate Stephen^^Briggs whose area of expertise is psychotherapy.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was incredibly funny, I mean, talking cats, "educated rodents" and the ever babbling Melissia, you can't get funnier than that. But it was also incredibly tense too. Of all the Discworld Adaptations I've listened to, this is the one in which the characters were put in the direst straits, and their grit has to show. though the stakes weren't the greatest, it was still formidable enough to keep you glued and on edge. Especially Spider, the Rat king and those rat cages.

[Hanike · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Discworld series must be one of the most amazing worlds I have stepped into and, though it may sound strange, my formal entrance ticket was this book: it was the first Discworld book I finished reading, yet it's the one that doesn't look like one.
It took me around 6 years to find a Brazilian copy and put this book in my personal library. It's been one of my favorite books since then and I have read it atleast 4 times.

"The Amazing Maurice & His Educated Rodents" (aka "O Fabuloso Maurício & Seus Ratos Letrados") is that kind of book that you want to carry along with you when you're in a travel... and Discworld is the kind of series you want to read when you're overstressed with the trials & tribulations of daily life!

Terry Pratchett was an amazing writer and he will be greatly missed by both the literary world and its fans!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poignant moments about rats and their discovery of thoughts. As always, Pratchett makes me think and then laugh out loud.

[Edwina Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a while since I indulged in a Terry Pratchett novel (and it was just the Amazing Maurice novel I read, not the stage play.)

From the blurb, I thought I had a clue of how the story would go, only it didn't. It heavily hinted, especially in the beginning, that it was going to be a riff on the Pied Piper fairytale, then it took off on a tangent. Some rats foraging through garbage at the back of Unseen University gain self-awareness and intelligence and set off to explore the world en route to finding an island where they can all live in peace and happiness. Maurice is part of their entourage, as is Keith (aka 'the stupid looking kid')

They do a bit of schtick from town to town until they come across a town where things don't look as they should. Why are the local rat-catchers parading shoelaces as rat tails?

I had no problems with the rat characters. They were delightful and well written. By far Malicia (love the name!) was my favourite human, but Maurice (a cat) didn't play the central role I was expecting him to, and parts of the plot seemed much darker than your average Pratchett, though the humor was spot-on (poisoning the ratcatchers). The ending brought it all together well, I just felt this Discworld novel was a bit patchy. I give it 3.5 stars (and intend to get back to more Discworld novels soon!)

[Sharondblk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Technically this is a children's book, but it has some very big, dark, themes - death, civilisation, what makes a society. It didn't resonate with me as much as the other books, possibly because I was in the mood for some classic Discworld. This is classic Pratchett, sly, referential and ultimately full of affection for the foibles of his characters, who are, after all, a reflection of us all.

[Emil Lenc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very different take on the pied piper in a manner very typical of Terry Pratchett. A very humorous novel and yet somehow laced with many philosophical questions as Maurice and his educated rodents come to grips with their self-awareness and increased intelligence.

[Emrys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg i Loved this.

[Palani Muthiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terry pratchett is my new fav author...

[Abood Dawood]

Great!!

[The Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sweet

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Briggs is an amazing voice artist and up to Pratchett storytelling level.

[Joe Langdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cool, I can see exactly how it has been made into a kids movie.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amusing story that nevertheless explores established religion and philosophy.

[Catherine Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still one of my favourites of all time!

[Jeanne_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Must love the talking cat book 😊😊

[Michael W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett

Maurice is a smart cat that leads his so called 'Educated Rats', while they go from town to town acting like plagues so that there colleague, a kid named Kieth that claims to be the rat piper takes them away. Then share the money the impostor rat piper gets paid. All the rats in that gang got there intelligence from eating garbage and thrown away things behind a Unseen University, accept for Maurice who gained his intelligence from eating one the the educated rats, and that when he made an oath never to eat a talking rat. The leader of the rats Hamnpork hates Maurice but has no choice but to back down and let the let Maurice the cat take over. The rest of the gang includes Dangerous Beans a rat that wants to start his own civilization and mentor that guides them, Additives,Dangerous Beans, Hamnpork, Darktan, Nourishing, Peaches, Sardines, Kieth the piper, Malicia Grim the daughter of th mayor, Ron Blunkett and Billy Spears the two rat catchers, the rats got these names from labels they can read. Later on in the book a suspicion grows about the rat catchers and what they actually do.

I personally loved this book because in made showed not just told, and the book described so much detail about the surrounding it almost feels like you're in the place watching whats going on. It pulls you in and keeps you hooked and you just don't want to stop and it feels like you're apart of whats going on.

I would recommend this book to people who have a sense of the Medieval times, and how things where during those times so they have a general image in there heads of how things where back then, if the reader doesn't really have a vague understanding of Medieval times and the book might be confusing and uninteresting because it would be talking about the Bubonic plague and you wouldn't know what that is and what it caused. This book is an amazing fantasy that really shows how these rats grew threw out the book and how they changed, and how they were adapting and starting to think like a human realizing what they were doing was wrong and also adapting to there new leader Maurice, this book really showed me a fantasy book is really enjoyable even if it's hopelessly falsified information and this gave me a second thought in to fantasy.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I were in the library the week that Terry Pratchett died. He picked up this book and I read it after him. There is a whole Plato and the cave thing going on along with the standard humour of the Discworld novels. It was as enjoyable for him as it was for me.

And of course, Death shows up...

[Jenny Burridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Djuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun simple read, I love how Pratchett overthinks things, but doesn't let it complicate the writing or storyline.

[Nita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A departure from the Disc World characters, but every bit as clever.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a funny book but I think the humor distanced me from the characters. I really crave emotional intimacy with the characters in the books that I read. So it was meh.

[Tara Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun :)

[Skippypeanuts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more of Pratchett's works!

[Bonnie Dale Keck · Rating 5 out of 5]

40 of so books, different collections, some audio, it's pratchett, read and heard some as well, all. Dates wrong.