DON’T miss Sandy Bigara’s fresh new staging of this famous Grimm’s fable at Durban’s popular Catalina Theatre on Wilson’s Wharf this festive season.
With more than 20 productions under her belt, local performing artist and director Bigara, has a reputation for creating laugh-out-loud scripts. The Princess and The Frog will entertain not only the smallest members of each family but the parents and older siblings as well. Based on The Grimm’s Tale, Der Froschkönig , published in 1812, Bigara has adapted the original story, peppering it with laughs, live song performance, dancing, actions and drama.
True to the tale, Princess Applegreen is a spoiled-rotten princess, selfish to the core. She breaks her promises and only wants what she wants. Throughout the play she learns to share, to care, and to honour her own words and be truthful. The frog is also selfish and a little greedy. He is only concerned with breaking the curse placed on him by Asparagus the Crone. By the time the Princess kisses him, he has learned to share, to care, and to honour his own words and be truthful. The Frog and the Princess follow a similar learning path with the help of the audience.
Look out for the new addition to the tale – a dastard villain who only has one thing on his mind… the Princess’s golden ball.
Heading the line-up of young performers are Chanel Meager as Princess Applegreen of Dartmouth Castle and Kim Kandan as the Frog, alias Prince Shamrock of Persian Green. The talented cast also features Musa Ntuli who doubles as Queen Olivegreen of Dartmouth Castle and the villainous Lord Viridian; Noluthando Kubeka as Pistachio the Maid, doubling as Chartreuse, the villain’s side kick and Sinazo Ngcengula is the Emerald Fairy. Gifted young Savanna Bigara (7) plays the Young Princess Applegreen and Fern the Young Maid, and five-year-old Kelsey Bigara is Minty the cat, Princess Applegreen’s pet. Sandy Bigara appears as the Story Teller and Minstrel.
Add-on attractions include prize give-aways, dance- and sing-alongs and a photo opportunity on stage at the end of each performance. The Princess and The Frog previews on Thursday 27 November and runs from Monday, 1 December to Saturday, 10 January with performances daily at 2.30pm. Booking is through Computicket at Shopright Checkers outlets, by phone on 0861 915 8000, or online at www.computicket.com. Tickets are R80 for children and R100 for adults (special school bookings between 1 and 10 December are available at R60 each).
