Half Moon Theatre – 15 May 2017. Reviewed By Jessica Brady for Fairy Powered Productions
I am so happy to say Action Transport Theatre has produced one of the most refreshing and important pieces theatre for children with Happily Ever After and are educating young people about diversity. This is a simple and honest story about following your heart and having the courage to be who you are, even when people may expect different.
The story is based on the Book King and King by Dutch authors Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland and is interpreted brilliantly. A tale of a Queen [Played by Bruno Mendes] trying to find her son, Prince Berty [played by Paul Curley] a Princess to marry in order to carry on the long line of King and Queens before him that are displayed in frames on the walls of the castle. After searching far and wide across land and sea, the Queen brings a selection of Princesses [all played by Eve Shotton] to Prince Berty, but he is not interested in the beautiful Princesses the way the Queen would have hoped. The final Princess arrives accompanied by her brother Prince Lee [Played by Ady Thompson] and Prince Berty realises he is impressed by him. They begin a romance and we see a lovely montage of the two Princes getting to know each other, going on little adventures together and falling in love. The Queen gives her blessing and the two Princes marry and seal it with a kiss ending in a photo frame of their own.
The set and costumes are like a children’s story book with bright and elaborate colours and cartoon like detail and it’s very easy to transport into the world of fairy tale. The play has no spoken word but is led by a lovely score written by Patrick Dineen which is magical in its own right. The Four actors tell the story with physical theatre techniques and facial expressions that the children seemed to really engage with and enjoy. The subject matter of being gay is well handled and is very heart warming to watch as you know that this is the world we live in and it is normal so why shouldn’t two Princes marry?
Entering the theatre and seeing a primary school group sat down and focused, I wasn’t sure what their reaction would be after watching Happily Ever After as it does highlight a taboo concept to many people still. I was, however, completely moved as I sat in on the post show workshop where the children were asked about the play and gave responses like ‘Being gay is normal’, ‘Being gay is not a choice’, ‘Love is good and the Princes were proud to love each other’. I would love to go on and write all the beautiful, positive things that the children said as they are so wonderful and made me so proud of them.
This kind of theatre is absolutely crucial for our children to see, it makes the world a more accepting place and encourages our children to understand and ingratiate diversity in to their lives from a young age. I encourage you to take your little ones to see it and have your warmed too.