Where the Wild Things Are

Max, a small boy in a white wolf suit is playing in the hallway outside his room, stalking his toy soldiers, ambushing his teddy bear from his ‘jungle’ tent cloth strung up across the hall and being thoroughly, happily naughty! 

As he lies on the floor pretending to be dead, he is frightened by the shadow of something making strange noises. It turns out to be his Mama and her wheezy old vacuum cleaner. She scolds Max but he continues to be naughty and defy her and is sent to bed without his supper. 

He sulks and begins to think of terrible revenge. His room begins to change and all about him a forest grows. A little sail-boat appears and Max climbs in. He is alone at sea moving through days and nights and in and out of weeks until, as dawn approaches, a huge sea-monster rears up from the water but sinks slowly down again at Max’s command. An island comes into view with palm trees, a plateau and a large cave. 

As Max moors his boat he hears distant rumbling noises. The Wild Things hurtle out of the cave shouting rude things at Max and making wicked fun of him. Though they seem comical, things could get out of hand at any moment. Max has had enough of their antics and noise. He howls at them and then stares into their yellow eyes, silencing and controlling them. Max tries to take stock of his surroundings, but every time, a Wild Thing steals up on him, only to be frozen back into submission with his magic stare. 

The forest thickens and the sea disappears. A small white goat brings in a crown but keeps it away from Max’s reach. The Wild Things form a procession and then crown Max ‘King of all Wild Things’. The Wild Rumpus begins: Max and the monsters hurtle about, dancing wildly. As the dancing reaches its peak, Tzippy, the female Wild Thing, literally loses her head in the chaos. Abruptly Max stops the dance and sends the Wild Things off to bed without any supper.

He takes off his crown, sits by his tent and dreams of home, his Mama and a hot supper. Then he gets up, tiptoes past the sleeping Wild Things and makes his way to the edge of the island to summon his boat again. 

The Wild Things wake up one by one, and stealthily move towards the boat after Max, muttering and making hostile gestures. Suddenly they beg Max not to leave them, but the boat pulls away from the shore as the monsters howl and threaten terrible revenge. Max is once more alone at sea, sailing back through nights and days. A forest grows around him and he leaves his boat which disappears into the distance.

Max’s room slowly becomes visible. At the back of the room is a tray on a table. Max sees a bowl of soup and then tastes it… it is still hot.

This synopsis was published in the 1985 Glyndebourne Festival Programme Book.

Photo: Guy Gravett/Glyndebourne Archive