The production opens with a stranded pilot suspended midair, setting the stage for his encounter with the Little Prince, who rolls in atop a ball which can be interpreted as his own tiny planet. Performed primarily through movement, the piece is told in its original French with English surtitles, though the physicality of the performers remains the true narrative force.
Energetic choreography, combined with dynamic floor and back-wall projections, takes the audience into a shifting sci-fi landscape where we are transported through time and space. Dylan Barone shines as the Little Prince, his elegant lines and extensions particularly mesmerising in a suspended duet with the Rose.
The adaptation follows the Prince’s journey through encounters that serve as reflections on society and human nature: a tyrannical king who demands obedience, a vain man consumed by self-admiration, a drunkard lost in a cycle of shame, a businessman obsessed with ownership and a lamplighter trapped in blind routine. These moments mirror the novella’s allegorical depth, yet something of its quiet wonder is lost.
While the circular movements evoke the cyclical nature of life, lending the piece an ethereal quality, the production never quite achieves the profound sense of awe that the book inspires. It’s enjoyable but ultimately lacks the emotional depth to truly transport the audience beyond the stage and into space.
Show Title: The Little Prince
Venue: London Coliseum
Review Date: 12/03/2025
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