The Little Prince

Published Monday 4 December 2006 at 15:50 by Christopher Collett

Northern Stage’s exquisite production of Antoine de Saint Exupery’s classic fable is one of the most sophisticated family shows on offer this year.

Played out on Neil Murray’s epic set - an undulating desert complete with a life size aeroplane - it tells the bittersweet story of a pilot who crashes in the middle of the Sahara and makes the acquaintance of a strange little boy from a distant planet, who helps him re-discover his inner child.

It is a gentle, meditative piece that celebrates the power of friendship and puts forward the view that children are inherently wiser than grown-ups. Murray appears to concur, as his production refuses to talk down to the audience. Sure, there are some memorable moments of comedy: Peter Peverley’s cameo as a jittery fox and Jane Arnfield’s turn as a vain rose are both very funny. Yet Murray resists going for easy laughs, focusing instead, on drawing out the innocent beauty and otherworldly feel of the original novel.

Frank McConnell’s elegant movement direction that sends Sophie Trott’s inquisitive Little Prince soaring across the heavens enhances the ethereal tone, as does John Alder’s emotive soundscape and Malcolm Rippeth’s gorgeous lighting design.

This is children’s theatre at its best.