Amazing performances, dazzling circus and some well-placed gags save this lacking and unambitious two-handed children’s show. The set-up is simple – a stubborn princess is told she needs a husband but after falling out with a wizard she is exiled to the moon and only a young astronomer can save her and bring her home. Will there ever be a man who the princess will love? Will there ever be a children’s show about a princess that doesn’t need saving by a man? No prizes for guessing how this one turns out.
The circus routines are full of charm and wit and bounce easily and confidently between knockabout fun and serene beauty.
Both performers are clearly highly skilled in their field. The circus routines are full of charm and wit and bounce easily and confidently between knockabout fun and serene beauty. These sections are the highlights ofthe show and some sections contain genuine laugh out loud moments for the entire family (in an early scene the stroppy, self-obsessed princess punches a hole straight through the top of a gift box to get to the presents within as quickly as possible).
The actors are obviously comfortable playmates and the chemistry and relationship between the two of them draws one in to their fantasy world. Even though almost completely without dialogue (the only mainspeech being a recorded voiceover narration), they are affable, friendly company.
However, apart from the otherworldly setting of the moon,the story is rather run of the mill. Of course, it is a children’s show and one cannot expect a twisting, turning, multi-layered narrative. But the plot feels tired and rerun and at times the physical feats were marred by the drawn out and laboured plot points which tie them together.If Moonfall were to reassess the story and moral message and turn in a slightly more imaginative plot and arc, it would propel this show into the greats of children’s festival theatre.
