THE FIT PRINCE …

King’s Head Theatre

★★★★★

“panto not just with bells on but with real balls attached”

A member of the audience makes their way to the stage. As he enters the coffin, he is now in-role as the dead King of the fictional European country – Swedonia. And thus begins a wonderfully camp parody of heteronormative holiday rom-coms and a joyous queer love story. Written by and starring Linus Karp and Joseph Martin, as the romantic leads, this is one hell of a festive joyride.

The unmarried Swedonian Prince (beautifully played by Linus Karp) is in line to the throne and must tie the knot soon or he will forfeit his right to the crown. His many suitors, mostly male – who make cameo appearances on large multimedia screens – are all hilariously unsuitable for a whole host of reasons. Yet there is one particular suitor, Aaron Butcher, a baker living in New York who is still getting over his callous ex-boyfriend. Boo! Encouraged by ever the optimist – friend, fellow baker and puppet – Jenny Puppetson – Aaron is commissioned to bake a cake for the prince’s imminent wedding and travels to Swedonia.

‘The Fit Prince’ is produced by Awkward Productions and King’s Head Productions. The puppetry alone merits a visit to this all-round incredible show. A darker fairy-tale element and note of absurdity is introduced with the entrance of the incredible ‘Gerta McMurder – a disturbing-looking, life-size puppet who runs a local orphanage in Swedonia. She is masterly operated by Joseph Martin who delivers her lines in a pitch-perfect Scottish accent!

And then there are the pop songs! The original music is by Golden Globe nominated writer and producer, Leland. The pop duo BAAB (a parody of ABBA) belt out numbers like ‘The Loser Gets Nothing’ and ‘Movement King’ to the sheer delight of the audience.

‘The Fit Prince’ is big on audience participation. I did somewhat squirm when I initially heard about this. However, it was often the audience members who stole the show as they ad-libbed, improvised and gave a fresh and unrehearsed delivery of the lines that appeared on autocue. The multimedia guest stars who made digital cameo appearances also helped to give a sense of a much larger-scale production. Kate Butch (from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK) as Angel Merkel, Tove Lo as the Prime Minister of Swedonia and Geri Allen as the Queen of England added even more sparkle, chaos and high campery to the twists and turns of the turbo-charged plot.

There is so much to enjoy here – including the delightful and hilarious sexy shenanigans that transpire in the sauna scene between the prince and the baker! The glorious design and costumes (Stella Backman, Wez Maddocks and Zack Pinset) and the choreography (Sam Carlyle) transform the show to another level. This, ladies and gentlemen, is panto not just with bells on but with real balls attached. ‘Fit Prince’ may be unashamedly queer, camp, and highly theatrical yet there is an element of social and political commentary that hits just the right note without ever threatening to overshadow the joy and festive good cheer. As Aaron the baker asks Jenny Puppetson if she thinks a puppet can end fascism, she retorts: ‘This is theatre!’ Point taken – it’s our job to do that in a world increasingly governed by authoritarian regimes!

If there is one panto you should go see this Christmas, it’s this one. Best panto EVER! And I mean that. ‘Fit Prince’ fully deserved the standing ovation last night. I wish all the creatives and your good selves a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

THE FIT PRINCE (WHO GETS SWITCHED ON THE SQUARE IN THE FROSTY CASTLE THE NIGHT BEFORE (INSERT PUBLIC HOLIDAY HERE))

Reviewed on 8th December 2025

by Tim Graves

Photography by Anna Clare

THE FIT PRINCE

The Niceties

Finborough Theatre

Reviewed – 3rd October 2019

★★★

“fretfully provocative and painfully relevant, and it gives us a whole lot to think about”

Though it might be said of many a time in history, the debate on power distribution seems particularly prevalent at this political moment, and the argument between generations seems louder than ever, with terms such as ‘generation snowflake’ being bandied about. Eleanor Burgess’ The Niceties, as directed by Matthew Illife, is a timely discussion between young and old, majority and minority, and radical and moderate.

Zoe (Moronkę Akinola), a young black student, and her professor Janine (Janie Dee), a white woman of obvious privilege, are poring over a first draft of Zoe’s thesis. What begins as an interesting discussion between two enthusiasts morphs into a gritty debate on the innately imperialist structure of academia and history’s stress on the white experience. The argument becomes personal very quickly, as is made clear to us by a soundtrack (Kate Marlais) of a low thrum and a heartbeat, confirming that things have turned nasty. This is pretty much the only sound used throughout, appearing again halfway through the second act, and it seems a bit unnecessary and patronising.

That being said, tension rises so early in the play that it’s perhaps necessary to continuously raise the bar. Whilst Zoe clearly has cause to be frustrated with the system, Akinola plays her more like a petulant child for the first half. Stomping around her professor’s office, avoiding eye contact, it feels more like a fight between a mother and her teenage daughter than between an esteemed academic and a promising student. The argument’s peak is lost in her almost constant state of fury where it might have had more punch if she had deferred her outrage slightly.

Akinola is quite a force on stage, however, and whilst her character choices don’t necessarily serve the play, her commitment to the role is tremendous.

Dee’s American accent is a little shaky and it gets in the way of her delivery for the first twenty minutes or so, but regardless, it feels as though she might have ad-libbed half the play, so natural are her mannerisms and emotional turns.

With an audience on three sides and an office-desk setting (Rachel Stone), the staging is always going to be tricky. The solution, it seems, is to keep both performers moving at all times, circling each other like cage fighters, in order to avoid having someone’s back to the audience throughout. It feels unlikely in this particular scenario, but maybe that’s how professors’ office hours are in the US?

No matter how it’s staged, the text itself will always, I think, make for uncomfortable viewing, pitting idealism against pragmatism; negotiating for improvements versus demanding immediate change. It’s an interesting discussion, but I’m not convinced these were the characters to have it: Though she isn’t without nuance, Zoe seems a slightly unfair and unkind representation of a completely sound point of view where Janine, though certainly flawed, comes off as charming and reasonable. It’s not a fair fight.

There’s no doubt The Niceties brings certain necessary and urgent conversations to the table, and whilst it doesn’t quite strike an even tone, it is fretfully provocative and painfully relevant, and it gives us a whole lot to think about.

THE FIT PRINCE …

King’s Head Theatre

★★★★★

“panto not just with bells on but with real balls attached”

THE FIT PRINCE (WHO GETS SWITCHED ON THE SQUARE IN THE FROSTY CASTLE THE NIGHT BEFORE (INSERT PUBLIC HOLIDAY HERE))

Reviewed on 8th December 2025

by Tim Graves

Photography by Anna Clare

Most recent shows reviewed at this venue:

THE FIT PRINCE

THE FIT PRINCE

THE FIT PRINCE

Finborough Theatre

Reviewed – 3rd October 2019

★★★

“fretfully provocative and painfully relevant, and it gives us a whole lot to think about”

Akinola is quite a force on stage, however, and whilst her character choices don’t necessarily serve the play, her commitment to the role is tremendous.

Dee’s American accent is a little shaky and it gets in the way of her delivery for the first twenty minutes or so, but regardless, it feels as though she might have ad-libbed half the play, so natural are her mannerisms and emotional turns.

There’s no doubt The Niceties brings certain necessary and urgent conversations to the table, and whilst it doesn’t quite strike an even tone, it is fretfully provocative and painfully relevant, and it gives us a whole lot to think about.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Ali Wright

The Niceties

Finborough Theatre until 26th October

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

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