Flight

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince lends more than enough colourful characters for Ezra LeBanks’s jovial adaptation, produced by Californian physical theatre company Curbside. If we are to attribute the success of the novella to its ambiguous classification – its repetitive patterns in the strains of children’s literature, while offering a complex philosophical outlook on the adult world – then this production might pose a show for all ages.

LeBank rotates mesmerisingly in the air, supported by his fellow acrobats, in an image of a pilot crashing towards the ground. Discovered on the ground by a Little Prince (charming Cynthia Price), the narrator shares his divisive childhood artwork: a drawing of a zebra being eaten by a blue whale, though grown-up eyes only ever discerned it as a picture of a hat (diehards of the book will notice a few details have changed). This dissonance between worlds actually makes for an apology in the speaker’s words: “I am sorry for that silly description. I am an adult after all”.

It’s safe to say that Curbside’s production does choose a side, that of entertaining its younger audience, while the big questions in the text don’t expand for its participatory audience, who gently tap their heads and utter “Hmmmm” whenever the words “Remember” and “Forget” are spoken.

Neatly directed by Olivia Treviño, there’s no other word for it than playful. Saint-Exupéry’s watercolour illustrations are replaced by performers who cut imaginative shapes on a stage sparely designed by Brittany Blouch, adorned only by a tangled blue backcloth evoking waves. Taylor Casas’s balletic gestures are especially memorable, whose many transformations include a cactus, the strange object of the Prince’s desire.

Combining lessons in ephemerality and responsibility, the event spells out its message: what we invest our time in is what is worthwhile. In that respect, Flight will be an investment in these final Fringe days.

Flight runs at Assembly Roxy (Downstairs) until 31 Aug. For more information and tickets, see the Fringe website.