Teatru Anon’s 30th anniversary celebrations certainly called for a re-do of The Little Prince and, this time, the gorgeous adaptation of the Saint-Exupery classic received the well-deserved royal treatment at Teatru Manoel. The first production in 2021 was held at the more intimate Campus theatre as part of ŻiguŻajg festival; this time round, the company had absolutely no problems filling our national theatre to the rafters. It was truly wonderful to see childen and their families turn up in droves, with even the top most balconies occupied.
Much like Daqsxejn ta’ Requiem lil Leli, The Little Prince receives the full Teatru Anon treatment of immersive visuals and puppetry, with director Chris Gatt taking members of the audience on a flight of fancy as we accompany the Prince and the Pilot (Paul Portelli) on their adventures. The best part? The production, while created specifically with little ones in mind, is just as immersive and captivating for adults.
Creating a theatrical piece that engages all ages is no easy feat. Teatru Anon achieve this. We watch Charlotte Grech take on the roles of Rose and Fox, and we’re collectively in thrall, from the eight-year-old yelling ‘FOX!’ to the 40-year-olds trying to figure out how Grech was so smoothly breathing life into this puppet.
Same goes to Jes Camilleri (who also did the script adaptation), Liliana Portelli and Pierre Stafrace, their Little Prince waltzing to life effortlessly. Paul Portelli has a real gift: his pilot never falls into the trap of dumbing down conversations, which is exactly the way Saint Exupery would have wanted it. The feeling all through is that this is a conversation among equals, which is possibly also part of what made it such a hit with the younger members of the audience.
The animations (Francesca Grech), original music score (Albert Garzia), and lights and sound (Chris Gatt and Sergio Costa) all contribute to the magic. What Teatru Anon achieve using a very minimalist set as basis and then adding and removing components as necessary is pretty spectacular. We’re taken from a dry desert to a sad hospital bed with one change of props (Gordon Dimech and Paul Portelli). And, in the end, we fly with the pilot and the Prince, the plane soaring into the sky with just a little bit of cleverness and imagination.
And walking out of the theatre, watching the level of engagement from the kids was just incredible. Shout-out to the little boy who refused to stop booing everyting the line “adults can be…strange” came up. I empathise with you.
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