THE Little Prince is the fourth most translated book in the world, with two million copies sold annually. So what is its enduring appeal more than 70 years after Antoine de Saint-Exupery put pen to paper?
“The story has such a powerful pull on imagination,” Spare Parts Puppet Theatre director Michael Barlow says.
“[It’s] completely original, it doesn’t draw from any existing folk lore or myth…[and] like all great fantasy there is an unknowable mystery at its heart.”
The Little Prince explores human nature and the peculiarities of the world through the eyes of a child, one transported from another planet.
Landing in the desert our child hero believes Earth is uninhabited until he meets a pilot, a fox, a snake and a desert flower, all of whom impart their own philosophy.
“The story is about what really matters in life. It isn’t material things that have the greatest value, it’s the people we form relationships with,” Barlow says.
The Little Prince is brought to life by Jessica Lewis (the fox) and Shane Adamczak (Miss Lily’s Fabulous Feather Boa) who plays all the other characters.
“Jess brings a natural loveliness and Shane is talented and funny, [with] something quite unique as a performer, he is very good at presenting an other worldliness,” Barlow says.
Jiri Zmitko’s sets reveal the tiny world of the Prince, the desert and the stars at night and his beautifully hand-carved puppet of the fox, snake and Little Prince will no doubt live on in the audience’s imagination.
The 45-minute performance is suitable for 4+ and is on school holidays, April 9 to 23 at Spare Parts’ Fremantle theatre.
For the full program go to http://www.sppt.asn.au
by JENNY D’ANGER
Perth Voice Interactive 
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