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Show: The Pirate, the Princess and the Platypus
Society: Polka Theatre (professional productions)
Venue: Polks Theatre. 240 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London SW19 1SB
Credits: Written by Daniel Clarkson and Richard Hurst, Produced by Polka Theatre
Type: Sardines
Author: Chris Abbott
Performance Date: 24/06/2022
The Pirate, the Princess and the Platypus
Chris Abbott | 08 Jul 2022 14:38pm
It’s always a pleasure to visit Polka Theatre, especially since their extensive makeover, and it was obvious to see that the building is as great a success as ever. The much enhanced café, garden and play areas were busy before the performance with early arriving playgoers, or families just visiting to enjoy the facilities. For many of us, however, our reason for visiting was to see the new main theatre show: The Pirate, the Princess and the Platypus. With a script and direction by Potted Panto/Potted Potter writers Daniel Clarkson and Richard Hurst, this was an appropriately silly tale enhanced by an inventive design and some top-grade performances.
The set design was a wonder to behold: full of nooks and crannies with secret doors and lots of different entrances. The detail with which it was painted also meant that early arrivals in the auditorium could spot many of the fascinating details, like the small flap in the door that was illustrated with a crown. Set designer Jessica Curtis was responsible for the costumes too, and these were endlessly inventive as well as helpful in identifying characters. A show like this could have been produced quite simply, but the addition of such a thoughtful and colourful set (I loved the bed boat) added greatly to the end result. The programme gives no bios for the creative team but her website shows Jessica Curtis to be a designer to look out for.
Authors Hurst and Clarkson are co-directors too, and keep the pace appropriately manic. If the script was for me a little too heavy on fart jokes and quiet asides or in-jokes for the adults, these were nevertheless enjoyed by the target audience for each. More could perhaps be made of the frog puppet, who was enjoyed by the audience but could have been more effective if he was larger, and his open mouth didn’t hide his face. It was a big ask to expect the cast to operate the frog as well as playing their own characters, and this did sometimes mean the frog was less believable than he might have been. He was much more successful when he was appearing through the set, with his operator able to concentrate on one character – and he transformed very effectively after being kissed.
As always seems to be the case with family shows, many parents had chosen to bring children below the target age of 5+. As a result, many of the jokes which would have been enjoyed by 7-9 year olds (and have been at the schools performances) did not have their deserved response. The same was true of some of the clever though not always audible lyrics in the songs that broke up the action. The show could, however, have helpfully lost 15 mins or so, although this may be an impression caused by the audience being too young in many cases. Despite these slight reservations, there was much to enjoy here, and I am sure many young audience members will be inventing their own secret Royal Princess dances.
The three performers played the title roles and a few others, and did so with endless invention, skill and verve. As the Platypus, Josephine Starte was out among the audience before the show began, and then deftly drew us in to the story once the lights went down. She instantly achieved the necessary engagement and sympathy from the audience, and served as our guide and storyteller throughout, playing with the props as children play with their toys, giving them ideas for games of their own when they go home. Hers was a cleverly understated but carefully thought-out performance. As the Pirate, Alex Stedman played up to expectations at first but then carefully showed his more complex character as the plot developed. He was an excellent counterpart to Teegan Hurley as the engaging Princess, following a similar character progression till we arrived at the conclusion that Pirates can do Princess-like things and Princesses can play at being Pirates: you don’t have to live up to expectations. The Platypus: well, she was just happy being a platypus, and delighted that some spells can only be broken by semi-aquatic egg-laying mammals.
The Pirate, the Princess and the Platypus runs until 20 Aug, and is to be recommended not just to Potted Potter fans but to Polka regulars and all who enjoy a well-designed and cleverly acted tale.