A new musical based on Oscar Wilde’s classic fairy tale will be presented in three showcase performances at The Place from 3 – 4 May 2019. The Happy Prince stars Janie Dee as Mrs Bentley, Phil Daniels as The Mayor, Sophia Hurdley as The Swallow and Sam Archer as The Prince. This heart-rending story about a Swallow’s faithful love for the golden statue of a Prince is told through a seamless fusion of dance and song.
The rest of the cast includes David Burt, Louis Gaunt, Sammy Graham, Jessica Pardoe, Edwin Ray, Ronald Samm, Cilla Silvia, Gemma Wardle and Alfie Wickham.
Director, Hal Cazalet said: “The Happy Prince is a fairy tale for today and as Oscar Wilde intended, for both adults and children alike. I can’t help but feel that the Wildean themes of greed and corruption set against the redeeming power of love and sacrifice are every bit as relevant and urgent in our present world, as when Wilde wrote the story in 1888.”
This modern musical adaptation is set in an unpleasant 1920’s Laundry House from which the potent technicolour world of the fairy tale evolves. Dark humour, greed and corruption are at work as the malevolent designs of a despot Mayor drive a town into bankruptcy and ruin. Drawing parallels to the world today, walls are being built to divide societies, so the Statue of a Prince, trapped behind the walls of his own palace, must win over the heart of a Swallow to save his people.
Although outwardly beautiful, the omniscient Prince is troubled by the poverty and suffering surrounding him. He persuades the Swallow to become his messenger and distribute his treasures to the townspeople who are most in need. In a race against time, and as the Swallow gradually removes his sapphire eyes and his gold leaf, outwardly the statue looks dull and shabby but the Prince is inwardly renewed and freed of his torment.
