Review: A Little Princess, C Nova, Victoria Street

STEP into the room at the top of the stairs at C Nova and you’re transported back in time to a Victorian school room. Miss Minchin makes sure that the audience are sitting comfortably and then the story begins. ****

Princess Sara is brought up in India until her father has to go to war and deposits her at a boarding school in England. To cope with his absence, Sara spends her nights telling stories to Lionel, a servant boy, until one 
terrible day, her world crashes around her.

This is a beautifully told story from genuinely imaginative Belt Up 
Theatre.

Serena Manteghi as Sara is wide-eyed with a backbone of steel. Jethro Compton as Lionel – and Sara’s father – slips effortlessly from one 
accent to another and is equally convincing as each.

Dominic Allen is a delight, whether barking orders at the audience or revelling in Sara’s bad luck.

And the set is the star of the show: a riot of detail that provides a 
delightfully atmospheric setting for this well-loved tale.

The production captivated this audience, from the six-year-old girls at my feet to the Brazilian tourists who unwittingly sat in Miss Minchin’s chair. A truly enchanting hour.

Until August 27