'The Light Princess' at The National Theatre

Last Sunday I went to a matinee performance of 'The Light Princess' at the National Theatre and as soon as I saw the stage I knew we'd be in for a visual treat. The stage is bracketed at either end by what look like old theatre boxes, one side in reds and golds and the other in blues and purples and between them is filled with a map on the curtain of the desert country of Lagobel which is rich in gold and on the other side is the martial Sealand. Separating the countries is the green wilderness in which there be dragons. O yes.

The play opens with two of the supporting cast narrating the story to a great animation sequence on the stage illustrating how the princess of Lagobel became light and the prince of Sealand became glum. We then learn that the two countries are at an uneasy peace and the king of Sealand wants to invade Lagobel and seize all the gold (as you would). The princess and prince meet, fall in love separate on bad terms and eventually get back together to live happily ever after although, to give it a modern twist, the princess becomes a marine biologist rather than staying at home in the palace. Good for her.

The story has lots of twists and turns, has a distinctly feminist tone, examines family relationships and finds them wanting and is full of magic and wonder. The princess finds gravity and the prince learns how to smile. It has learned the lessons of 'War Horse' well and features a lovely brave falcon as the prince's friend and an orange mouse with a lump of cheese that lives in the princess's tower. The falcon flying out over the audience and especially when he brings his fellow brightly coloured falcons to try to protect the prince are marvellous sequences. He's called Zepherus, the west wind.

The play is full of special effects and the most spectacular must be the floating princess. She rarely stands on the stage but is continually floating around in a very realistic way and this is mainly due to a troupe of four 'puppeteers' dressed in black who pass her from hand to hand, raise her up on their legs and generally keep her moving and bobbing. Now and then she floats on wires which is equally impressive, pulled down by ribbons tied to wrists and ankles. The princess is never still, even when weighed down with the pomp of being a princes, with her crown and sceptre.

Tori Amos wrote the songs and music that keep the story moving along nicely and the production fits in perfectly with the tone of the songs, a gorgeous, almost baroque, affair.   A modern fairy tale for everyone. Princess Althea was played by Rosalie Craig and Prince Digby by Nick Hendrix and they both gave lovely performances, particularly Rosalie who must have gone through extra hours and weeks of rehearsal to be able to give herself up to the puppeteers with such trust and abandon. I dread to think of the bruises she must have had in rehearsals. I also liked Amy Booth-Steel as the princess's friend and Kane Oliver Parry as the prince's brother. I didn't like King Ignacio of Sealand played by Hal Fowler, a nasty king who killed his wife and shot his son only to be killed himself by Zepherus's brave falcon troop. Hal is Mr Kim Wilde (one of my pop stars of choice) so he better be nicer in real life!

As you might guess, I loved it! A new fairy tale for Christmas (and yes, I know it's based on an old fairy tale). And it's for all the family - the audience was full and full of people from little kids with their parents and grandparents to groups of girls and young women and people well into pensionable age. It had a great reception from everyone - including me. It must have cost a small fortune to stage, what with the special effects for the floating princess and all the scenery and costumes, so I don't think it'll be staged this lavishly very often. That's why I booked more tickets to see it again between Christmas and New Year - the perfect time to see it. I intend to enjoy it while I can!

Well done Tori and well done to everyone for a wondrous production. I'm looking forward to seeing it again!