Picture: Jake Bush
The Rapping Princess continues at the Polka Theatre, London until 21 June 2026.
Star rating: 3.5 stars
A mild and jolly mini-musical for three to eight year olds, The Rapping Princess seemed to engage all the children I saw it with in Polka Theatre’s studio space.
Shiloh, the titular princess (Anu Akinseye – good) has a problem and it’s distressing her. Unlike all her brothers and sisters she can’t sing but she has a concert to appear in. What she can do, however, is to write and perform rhythmic, rhyming rap. We hear a lot of that, and it’s fun.
Grace Venus (also good) plays a range of other roles including an entertaining singing teacher and Shiloh’s encouraging sister. The underlying message is that “a beautiful garden has every sort of tree” and Shiloh, her confidence restored, ends up rapping: “I’ll tell my story loud and true, I’m proud of the things my voice can do.” Both actors, of course, are capable singers.
Jack Trzcinski’s music is suitably accessible – lots of major key triads – although the ‘doh-re-me’ number seems obviously rather derivative.
The set comprises a brightly lit illuminated arch which provides glitz. The miniature hot air balloons which descend from the flies are cute but they seem a bit pointless and don’t add much.
Akinseye and Venus are adept at coaxing audience participation and the finale in which Venus builds, or purports to, a multitrack from percussion sounds provided by the audience engenders a party atmosphere.
It’s an energetic 50-minute piece, well enough judged for its target audience.
The Rapping Princess is based on the book by Hannah Lee and Allen Fatimaharan, adapted for the stage by Annabel Mutale Reed (who also directs) and Trzcinski.
Susan Elkin
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