PERFORMANCE DETAILS Laterna magika is the resident theatre company at the New Stage Theatre in Prague. Established in 1958, Laterna magika created the world's first multimedia theatre. Their aim is to tell a story without spoken words. Instead, productions combine the latest film and digital projection techniques with live dramatic action - energetic dance routines, pantomime and black light theatre. Stunning sound and lighting effects also play a significant role. This production takes its inspiration from the novella the Little Prince, which is the fourth most-translated book in the world. It is the best-known work of the French writer, poet and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The Little Prince was first published in 1943. Although generally classified as children's literature, its deep message strikes a cord with people of all ages, for it contrasts the pure, simple view of life and its workings held by a young boy, with the more complicated views of adulthood, where people are influenced by a desire to control nature, and of the dominance of technology, materialism and selfishness. The story of the Little Prince begins with a pilot stranded in the Sahara Desert, following the crash of his aircraft. There he meets a young boy who has fallen to Earth from an asteroid. He subsequently refers to the boy as the Little Prince. Over the course of eight days stranded in the desert, as the narrator attempts to repair his plane, the Little Prince recounts the story of his life. He has travelled to 7 planets and encountered many creatures, making sense of it all purely with friendship and love, which highlights how a child's feelings differ from those of grown-ups. Laterna magika's stage version of this poetic tale features all the elements reader's of the book will expect: the terrestrial desert and the pilot, and the inhabitants of the seven planets - the King, the Vain Man, the Drunkard, the Businessman, the Lamplighter, the Geographer and the Fox, who shows the Little Prince the value of friendship. Of course, as this is Laterna magika, there are plenty of surprises in store too. The Little Prince is a colourful and engrossing multimedia show, which makes full use of modern theatre and film media to tell the tale. Images are projected on to multiple screens, while in the foreground actors and dancers perform with great animation, song and dance. The show employs some fantastic costumes and a variety of props. As the story is recounted visually, Laterna magika shows are ideal for an international audience, for both adults and children.
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