The Little Prince - A Journey — CHARLOTTE VON SZCZEPANSKI

The Little Prince
- A Journey

An immersive performance design based on the original text by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - designed for Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, London.

Mixing theatre with circus, interactivity and elements of art installation we follow the Little Prince on his journey to five different planets or machines, finally landing on Earth where we travel far and wide, learning about the value of time and the difference between adults and children. When at last we meet the Pilot (where the original story in the book starts and where now the Prince’s journey ends) we find out exactly why the Prince undertook the journey in the performance climax that uses aerial performance and projection to leave a lasting impression on the audience about love and responsibility.

Scene 1

The audience is met by The Little Prince at the entrance to the power station as they walk through slowly descending paper clouds to the entrance.

Scene 2

The audience enters the Engine Room and arrives in the magical inner workings of the power station. Here they are met by all the machines which The Little Prince visits in the first stage of his journey through the cosmos.

Scene 3

The audience follows The Little Prince into the first machine where they meet The King who believes he can command everything and everyone.

Scene 4

Next the audience meets The Tippler, a juggler who is stuck in an endless cycle of shame about his drinking and drinking to forget his shame.

Scene 5

As the journey continues, The Little Prince and the audience meet The Businessman, a clown who takes himself too seriously. He is so focused on counting the stars, one by one, that he has lost sight of what really matters.

Scene 6 - part I

AAs The Little Prince and the audience travel deeper into the power station, they come across The Lamplighter who is duty bound to light and extinguish the lamp without rest as each day is only a minute long.

Scene 6 - part II

The Lamplighter is the only adult that The Little Prince has met whom he respects, for his sense of responsibility and his understanding of the existence of something greater than himself.

Scene 7

The Geographer, surrounded by blank maps and empty globes, is waiting patiently for explorers to describe the world around him and the universe itself. He suggests that Earth may be the place for The Little Prince to travel to next.

Scene 8

Upon leaving the Engine Room and the Cosmos, the audience follows The Little Prince to Earth and to a pharmacy that has invented a pill that quenches thirst, saving 53 minutes per week. What would you do with your saved time?

Scene 9

The audience follows The Little Prince down the tunnel with trains hurtling down either side, noticing the children pressing their noses to the windows and enjoying the journey as the adults sleep – dreaming only of their next destination.

Scene 10

As the audience follows The Little Prince even further through the power station, they travel with him past flowers and up mountains.

Scene 11

The Little Prince meets The Fox who shares a secret with him– “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Scene 12

Coming to The Rose Garden, The Little Prince is shocked to find that the flower on his home planet is not as unique as she has told him she is. (The role of The Rose in the life of The Little Prince will be revealed in the final scene.)

Scene 13

As The Little Prince leads the audience into the desert of the Boiler House, they meet a snake who offers The Little Prince a way back home.

Scene 14 - part I

The Little Prince and the audience come across a crashed plane.

Scene 14 - part II

The Little Prince meets The Pilot, and the two bond over the hidden meanings of drawings and the forgotten innocence of adults.

Scene 14 - part III

The Little Prince asks The Pilot to draw him a sheep to protect his love on his far-off star. The Little Prince starts to open up about where he comes from and what he is looking for on his travels.

Scene 14 - part IV

As The Little Prince and The Pilot become friends, The Little Prince shares the story of his planet, the unrequited love for his rose, and his desperate urge to learn the reason for why we love and what it means to love at all.