The Play's the Thing

The Play's the Thing is the fifth episode of Season 3 and the thirty-first episode overall of the Nelvana Redwall TV Series.

Summary

Martin the Warrior, Laterose of Noonvale, Grumm Trencher, and Pallum look for landmarks that could indicate that they're heading in the direction of Noonvale. Polleekin follows them.

At Fort Marshank, Tramun Clogg tells his corsairs that he intends to use Badrang the Tyrant to repair his ship, the Seascarab, and then continue his efforts on getting revenge. Badrang meets with Druwp; he plies the bankvole with food and drink and demands that he report directly to him. Badrang approaches his slaves, calling out Hillgorse, Barkjon, Keyla, and Tullgrew. He directs Tullgrew to dig in her sleeping area. When nothing appears to be buried there, Hisk and Gurrad take over digging. They also find nothing, and Badrang leaves for his quarters. Keyla reveals that he relocated their buried weapons cache after he saw Druwp watching them. When Badrang returns empty-handed, he threatens Druwp. Keyla and Barkjon hope Martin plans on returning for the slaves.

Martin, Rose, Grumm, and Pallum hike through the night; Martin informs the group that they have a tail. Pallum nearly falls off a cliff out of fear, and the others save her. They decide to setup camp.

At Clogg's campsite, Ballaw De Quincewold performs a series of magic tricks and illusions, impressing the corsair and gaining an invite for the Rambling Rosehip Players to put on an entire show at Marshank. Ballaw apprises the Players of the news.

Martin, Rose, Grumm, and Pallum hope for food, when suddenly baked goods appear. Polleekin reveals herself, and guides the group to her residence. She provides mysterious directions to help them get to Noonvale. They depart the next morning. Polleekin weeps for the four travelers, predicting a dark turn of events in their future.

Official Synopsis

Martin and friends press on towards the sunset-- and Noonvale. Meanwhile at Marshank, the pirate Clogg is already planning to double-cross Badrang by refloating his ship to attack him. Druwp tries to reveal the cache of stolen weapons but is outwitted by Keyla, who is suspicious of Druwp and hid them elsewhere. Martin and his friends are delayed when one of them falls over a high cliff. The friend is rescued but the incident forces them to camp and no longer travel at night.

At camp, around a blazing fire, Clogg makes plans to rebuild his ship-- but is interrupted by Ballaw and the Players. Impressing him with magic 'tricks' they persuade him to allow them into Marshank to entertain Badrang. It is a bold and dangerous ruse to release Felldoh's father and the other slaves. Martin and friends meet the psychic mole Polleekin who tells them their companions are alive and also makes them a riddle map to guide them on their journey to Noonvale. But as they leave she warns them sadly that although they will see happiness they will also encounter much sadness-- the brave warriors have no idea what they are about to encounter.

Differences from Martin the Warrior

• Pallum almost falls to her death; this scene does not appear in the book.
• When the four travelers stay with Polleekin, she tells Rose the directions to Noonvale; in the book, this doesn't happen until the next day.
• Martin, Rose, Grumm, and Pallum leave the very next day; in the book, they stay for a little while longer.
• In Martin the Warrior, Polleekin predicts a dark future for the travelers directly to their faces; in the episode, she anticipates this while by herself.

Storyboards

• Check out storyboards from the episode provided exclusively to the Redwall Wiki here.

Trivia

• "The Play's the Thing" is a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet. It is spoken by Hamlet, in which he reveals that he plans on using a performance as a trick, much like the Rambling Rosehip Players.

Featurettes

• Presenters: Featurette Girl 1, Featurette Boy 2

Segments include:

• "Polleekin"
• "Pirate Food"
• "Layout Department with Tony Tarantini"

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Streaming

The Play's the Thing is available for streaming on Nelvana's official Treehouse Direct YouTube channel. They mixed up the episode titles when they uploaded. Despite the video title, this is the correct episode, as evidenced by the title card.

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