The Little Prince

The Little Prince refers to the English version of Le Petit Prince[1], the famous French novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944)[2], and to the many dramatisations and filmed versions of the text over the years.

The original text

The novella was first published in French in first in Paris, 1943, by Gallimard, with water colour illustrations by the author.

Translations and adaptations

By 2014 book had been translated into more than 250 languages and dialects (including Braille), and adapted for all conceivable media over the years, including stage (ballet, children's theatre, straight plays, musicals, etc) and film/TV. (For a partial list see for example "List of The Little Prince adaptations" in Wikipedia[3]).

The first and best known English translation, by Katherine Woods, appeared simultaneously with the French version in 1943, published in the USA by Reynal and Hitchcock.

Performance history in South Africa

1977: Presented by Merlin Players at the Nunnery, directed by Gerry Josephson.

1979: Presented at the Johannesburg Planetarium by the Wits Students' Christian Association.

1984: Presented by ADAM at the Space Frame Theatre at the Johannesburg College of Education, adapted and directed by Nurden Cross.

1984: Presented in the Market Theatre Rehearsal Room, adapted and directed by Marc Colli.

2016: An English dramatized version, adapted and directed by Francois Theron, was performed in April by the National Children's Theatre (NCT), directed by Francois Theron, with sets by Stan Knight, lighting by Jane Gosnell and costumes by Sarah Roberts.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint-Exup%C3%A9ry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince

http://www.artlink.co.za/news_article.htm?contentID=39696

Greyvenstein, Walter 1988. The history and development of children's theatre in English in South Africa. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.

Go to ESAT Bibliography