December 12, 2012

The last panto that David has been in, on stage, was The Princess and the Goblin at the Dundee Rep.  The play ran from December 4, 1993 through January 8, 1994.  The original story was written in 1872 by George MacDonald and was adapted for this performance by Stuart Paterson, author of Shinda the Magic Ape.  David plays Curdie, the miner boy, who helps Princess Irene to fight the Goblins.  The costumes took their inspiration from the books Victorian illustrations, Stuart adds a dragon called Fannon to the story and ages the Princess a bit to enhance the love story between her and Curdie.  The mines and Goblins underground lair were portrayed by realistic stone scenery on a revolving stage.  The production was directed by Hugh Hodgart, who was the co-director of Shinda and also directed David in the Edinburgh production of Hay Fever in 1992.  Hugh also graduated from the RSAMD and also directed David in a school production of the The Fruits of Enlightenment.