The Princess and The Pea

 

Approx. Run Time
Act 1: 60 minutes and Act 2: 50 minutes

Plot Summary
Légume, the Prince of Petit Pois, is required to marry by the time he is 25, or he won’t inherit the crown, and it will go to his uncle and aunt who are the baddies of the panto. In order to prevent an arranged marriage, the Prince agrees to wed, but only if his parents can find a Princess who passes the ‘pea under the mattress test’. This is from the storyline of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale where the reasoning is that no-one but a true princess would be sensitive enough for their sleep to be disturbed by such an insignificant thing as a pea under their mattress. In actuality the Prince doesn’t care much about the whole ‘mattress and pea’ thing, he is using it as a

delaying tactic and really hopes to marry for love. Eventually, by accident, he stumbles across a princess who is not only very compatible but, by happy coincidence, passes the aforementioned fairy tale test. They decide to marry straight away, and it seems that the kingdom will soon have a new and benevolent king and queen after all. Unfortunately, the fly in the ointment is Légume’s uncle and aunt,

Mildew and Maggoty, who will do whatever they can to ruin the Prince’s marriage plans and take power for themselves...and so the story becomes a little more complicated.

This panto has all the classic elements: comedy, some very likeable characters and some very nasty ones, a cookery/custard pie scene, a ghost scene, a singalong, jeopardy (a princess imprisoned), and of course heroism, but in this case the true hero is the Princess for a change!

 

Cast of Characters

Princess Blossom: Turns out to be the hero. Intelligent, witty, More than equal to Prince Légume. From the neighbouring kingdom of Guisante (pronounced ‘Gissantay’).
 

Prince Légume: (Pronounced ‘Lay-gyoom’). Sensitive, intelligent. Has great responsibility on his shoulders, tries to do his best for the Kingdom and for Blossom. 

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Mrs Marrowfat (the dame): Castle cook (not a very good one). Quite man-hungry, kind, funny, engages well with her assistant, Mushy, and with the audience. Funny, loveable, naive, kind-hearted. She must be super enthusiastic.Full of energy and wide-eyed happiness.
 

King Kelvedon: Very gentle, non-aggressive, apologetic, upper class English. Down-trodden by his wife, not very confrontational. Can be a bit lecherous. Not quite up to speed with what’s happening around him.
 

Queen Sugarsnap: Strong-minded, well-developed sense of duty. Wants to do right by her son and the kingdom. A strong woman who stands no nonsense.
 

Lord Mildew: A baddy who will stop at nothing for power. Married to Maggoty but doesn’t even like her much. Stays with her because she has the brains, which will help his ambitions.
 

Lady Maggoty: A strong and determined baddy. Married to Mildew but doesn’t even like him much. Only stays with him because of greed and because her ambitions are tied to his.
 

Mangetout: (Pronounced Marnzh-too’) Man-servant to Légume. A bit of a pompous type, like a stereotypical butler. (Turns out to be a spy!)
 

Narrators: Open the show, lay the foundation for the whole panto so must be clearly understood, join courtiers for songs etc. Brief appearances throughout and have a couplet at the end.
 

Lady Sweetpea: Handmaid to Blossom, takes an instant dislike to Legume! Great role for a younger person. Comedy derived from someone sweet and pretty turning into a diva and bullying a Prince who is stronger and bigger and of a higher status. 

Princess Chana: A chav! Broad chavy accent. Obsessed with ‘beauty’ and fashion. Very entitled and self-opinionated. (Scene 3 and finale only).

Princess Wan Doh: (‘Wan’ as in ‘can’; ‘doh’ as in ‘dough’ but with a slight ‘th’ on the ‘d’ as in ‘dthough’). A descendant of the Chinese royal family. (Scene 3 and finale only). Starts with posh accent – slightly mystical. Reverts to broad local accent.
 

Main Ghost: (Sir Fusarium Wilt, The Ghostly Knight, pronounced Fyoo-zair-eeum): Scary, loud voice, imposing figure. Only appears in the ghost scene and finale.
 

Courtiers: Able to sing, small amount of dancing. A few lines for some. 
 

Ghosts: (3 ghosts, plus a small one for end of scene). Probably chosen from among courtiers? Ghost scene only.
 

Guards (1 or 2): On stage a few times, also usually on stage when courtiers are on stage. Minimal dialogue.