The King of Nothing – Little Angel Theatre

Picture: Ellie Kurttz

The King of Nothing continues at the Little Angel Theatre, London.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Ben Glasstone’s account of The Emperor Who Has No Clothes is full of charm and wit. And it works well for two main reasons. First it is one of the most perceptive stories ever written, dealing as it does with vanity, self delusion, conformity and truth. It’s both topical and timeless.

Second, we have a cost of living crisis and the gap between rich and poor is neatly pointed up in this show. Funny and entertaining as it is, there are some serious points just below the surface which some children will go away reflecting on.

Gilbert Taylor and Karina Garnett are both accomplished actor/puppeteers moving seamlessly from one role to another under Steve Tiplady’s imaginative direction.

They start as swindlers, cheerfully singing about their crimes (Garnett is quite a whizz on the ukulele) and then morph into puppeteers as they introduce other characters – with much sleight of hand and slickness.

Garnett is an impressive ventriloquist and Taylor has fun being a full-sized human king wearing ridiculous clothes, as well as using a puppet for the character. Both actors are very good indeed at different voices.

Alison Alexander’s puppets come in various formats (stick, glove and so on). The Keeper of the King’s Underwear is a particular triumph with his magisterial tremble and mitre-like hat which is formed from an inverted pair of underpants.

I took with me an 11 year old and a seven year old, both of whom enthusiastically declared at the end that this was a four star show. The 11 year old commented particularly on the way the two puppeteers worked together so that the puppets moved very naturally. She also admired the use of visible puppeteers and the way the show used a small Scottish mouse glove puppet as the narrator.

The seven year old liked Glasstone’s songs and the way the swindlers charged up the aisle and out of Little Angel Theatre’s central back door at the end because they’d been rumbled and had to escape quickly.

And we all three enjoyed the appearance of the (gently and tastefully) naked king at the parade. Who needs a little boy in the cast when you’ve got a whole audience of children who will spontaneously and delightedly bellow: “He’s naked!”?

Susan Elkin