The Light Princess

When: Tuesday 28^th January 

Where: National Theatre 

Why: Time Out ticket offer 
 

This was the first play I saw at the National Theatre. I had previously been in to the Philip Pullman talk about fairy tales and made use of the theatre bar to shelter in, but I was looking forward to a real theatrical experience. The Lyttelton theatre is functional, décor-wise, but very comfortable and spacious which my wriggly self appreciated (I am still emotionally, and probably physically, scarred after the Mack and Mabel seating hell at the Southwark theatre’s old location – let’s hope they didn’t take their chairs with them when they moved).

I was drawn in by the promise of music written by Tori Amos and the inspiration for the story from George Macdonald’s fairy tale (which is beautiful and which you can read here). The princess is basically anti-gravity, both literally and emotionally, and the plot follows on from this. It was ingeniously staged and I had been intrigued about how the princess would fly. I was initially irrationally disappointed to see it would mainly be via three royal subjects lifting and supporting Rosalie Craig as the princess, and assisting as she clambered over the vertically reaching set (the bookshelves in her tower were a triumph). But she was so confident and flowing that you really forgot she wasn’t flying, and also came to appreciate the supporting actors’ combined skill.

Having since seen the Oliviers, I can’t help feel that Rosalie was a bit robbed of the best actress in a musical award (especially since the winner was from devil-musical Once - shudder). Her stamina, elegance, and spirit really deserved to be recognised – and to sing so beautifully under such physically demanding conditions was masterful.

The play itself was perfectly balanced – dramatic and funny in turn, full of cheeky humour for both adults and children and with perfectly pitched emotion. The staging was some of the most creative I’ve ever seen – even the lake scene with the prince and princess swimming through various layers of fabric and encountering hopping water creatures was brilliantly done. It was all just charming and massively exceeded my expectations.

In conclusion – I discovered a new fairy tale and had a luminous evening. Good going. 

Brixpig x