Everyone of every age is sure to be charmed by this enchanting little musical fairy-tale. Unpretentious yet polished and completely professional, Prince Charming is a delightful gender-flipped story of a rather unusual knight-on-a-quest, given exuberant life by a terrific team under director Jordan Dickson.  

Speaking for myself, it has also been utterly charming to watch this group of exceptional young theatre practitioners develop over the past few years.

Many of the cast and crew were finalists or award-winners at last week’s Dunedin Theatre Awards, with Dickson and writer Shaun Swain, previous winners of Emerging Talent, recently chosen as the very first directors for a prestigious new national directing course to be run by The Actor’s Programme.

The three Prince Charming actors are also outstanding, exuding attractive self-confidence from their first entry, in a slick song and dance number backed by on-stage Isaac Martyn that quickly has the audience bouncing along. Swain’s lively narrative loosely follows the tradition of the knight who overcomes fearsome enemies to rescue fairy-tale royalty.

In this year of Suffrage 125, however, it is pleasing that the hero is unapologetically non-male Knight-Ella, played by sassy Katherine Kennedy with wide-eyed enthusiasm, whose way of overcoming enemies is to make friends with them. A great lesson for kids embarking on holiday mischief! Kennedy, whose fabulous alter ego usually entertains with more adult material, is a multi-talented performer who quickly has the youthful audience on side, teaching us to crow like roosters to summon her aid for the hapless Prince.

Versatile Orion Carey-Clark, named Best Director for his gruesome work on black comedy The Lieutenant of Inishmore for fledgling Arcade Theatre Co- pany, is equally impressive in the demanding genre of children’s theatre. In Prince Charming, as well as being Head Knight and a dashing King, he dextrously plays multiple ‘evil’ characters who turn out to be adorable, from a witch – sorry, wizard, Witch is just his family name – to a wolf who is simply a puppy needing to be taught to sit. And his dragon accent is gorgeous!

Mac Veitch, comic but terrifying in Inishmore, is delicious here as conceited Prince Charming, who arrogantly demands perfection in those aspiring to be knights, making the kids giggle at his grading system: “Failure to read documents is minus five points! Well done is not Excellent! Fine is not Phenomenal!” Naturally he meets his match in Knight Ella, who has some very sound Life Lessons to teach him in the process of ‘rescuing’ him.

The well-paced action is broken by perky dance routines to pleasant melodies composed by Isaac Martyn, which range from gentle guitar for a slow ballad, to a jaunty percussive rap for the Knight’s Code. Kennedy, Carey Clark and Veitch are all courageously physical actors, concocting hilarious pieces of stage business, as well as delivering lines with a clarity and resonance enhanced by the NAT’s good acoustics.

For an opening performance the technology is remarkably smooth, clearly with good support from Stage Manager/Operator Katie McManus. The bold costumes and castle/switch!/forest set, though uncredited, are very satisfying, attractive but simple – the sort of stuff that the children themselves might conceivably concoct at home, as they replay Prince Charming and are hopefully inspired to create their own original plays.

Dickson and Swain have cut their teeth on the Fortune’s school holiday programmes, and they know exactly what they are about, as do the performers. What a Theatre-in-Education team they would make! There is no patronising of their public. The children are taught the secret signal that will hush them if they get too rowdy, and then encouraged to contribute to the show.

Truly contribute. Little Abby and Aleisha offer suggestions for action poses, see them used on stage, and are rewarded by having their own names combined for the Magic Word – Abeesha!  My smart eight-year-old guest, Eliemae, volunteers to help train the wolf pup, which is promptly named after her, and she then gets to give him a doggy treat. Later she confides this was her favourite moment. 

Swain has a catchy way with words and rhyme that recalls Dr Seuss or perhaps Edward Lear, and I enjoy the jokes for adults, which are funny without being grubby. Even more, though, I relish the subtlety of little lessons, like Mr Witch, when fired by Prince Charming, realising this is actually his opportunity to abandon terrorising and instead pursue his real love, baking. And I really appreciate the less obvious means of audience interaction, like the satisfaction of summoning Knight Ella with a good loud rooster crow. 

At just forty minutes, Prince Charming doesn’t test the patience of the little ones, and though the ending comes a bit swiftly for me, the theatre experience can be happily drawn out by the photo opportunities and interactions with the cast after the show. I can’t resist getting a photo memento myself – this is one show I want to remember. I love it, and I don’t doubt Dunedin Christmas audiences will crow over it too! 

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