The Enchanted Pig - a young reviewer's view

The Enchanted Pig, a production taking place at the Linbury Studio, is a heart-warming story based on an old Romanian folk tale. A simple story which sees three princesses  open their father’s forbidden book of fate, resulting in the realisation that the youngest, Flora, is fated to marry a pig. Once married she discovers that her husband is actually under a spell cast upon him by an evil Mother who wished the prince for her daughter.  Flora uses the help of the sun, moon and north wind to search for him, only finding him after wearing out three pairs of iron shoes.

Acted ably by a cast of eight who are required to make many rapid costume changes throughout the performance, (and do so flawlessly), the performance is never dull and there is something happening on the stage at all times. The lighting creates different moods and shows night and day very simply and the set is used to create different atmospheres effectively. The revolving parts in the stage are used for smooth and quick changes of scene so that there is never a dull moment. Because of the nature of the story which involves princesses and fantasy it is possibly aimed at a younger audience; however humour is used to turn the performance into a cross between an opera, musical and pantomime which captivates people of any age. The humour also helps to make this piece appealing  to a wide range of ages. It is sung all the way through in English making it easy and enjoyable to follow.

In my opinion the performance was a success as it kept the audience’s attention from start to finish and flowed smoothly with very little disruption between scene changes. The cast was strong and played the humour.  I also enjoyed the music very much.

Sam Shiels