Final review: The Light Princess, NT

"See these tears flow, this H2O"

There's not really much more to say than to bid a fond farewell to this most beloved of shows. Despite the fierce love it engendered in its devoted fans, I personally don't think a transfer would have necessarily worked so well. There's something wonderfully neat about its life at the Lyttelton, the length and nature of its run in rep meaning that Rosalie Craig was able to make every single performance - an impressive feat even before one touches on the extraordinary demands of the lead role. And getting to see the final show, with a large group of people who had been equally (if not more) touched by the work - and that includes the extraordinary cast and company, I don't think I've ever seen so much visible emotion at the end of a run - was a genuine privilege.

Since the show shone so brightly, yet so briefly, it has left the kind of indelible impression that will be impossible to shift. I saw it five times in total - you can read about visits one, two, three and four - and each time, it surprised me, its densely complex nature revealing something new each time with different musical motifs becoming prominent, the various themes shifting in emphasis, the texture of the show almost malleable in its changeability. So now we have to wait for the soundtrack and dream of once upon a once a, once upon a time.

"What you have done, has brightened the world" 


Photos: Brinkhoff/Moegenburg

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