Guest Blog: 'It's About Independence and Empowerment': Actor and Theatre Maker Jesse Meadows on PRINCESS SMARTYPANTS

The wonderful story of Princess Smartypants was written by Babette Cole in 1986. Judith Dimant at Wayward Productions gifted it to us to create in 2020, and after the delays of the pandemic, we have had the absolute joy of finally bringing it to life this year!

Princess Smartypants is the story of a rebellious princess who doesn’t want to get married and in turn, out-smarts all the prince suitors her parents send her way, until the last one, Prince Swashbuckle, she gives a magic kiss and turns into a giant slimy toad! Smartypants rides a motorbike, has a pet dragon and plays electric guitar in her dungarees. She is perfectly happy on her own, as a Ms not a Mrs, and lives happily ever after on a sun lounger, toasting the audience with a glass of something and surrounded by her monster pets. Not your typical Princess!

This show was such a joy to make as it was the chance to create a new role model for children - a story that encourages young people to embrace who they are and, at its heart, is about independence and empowerment.

Babette Cole was truly before her time, and although this book was bold and brave then, it’s just as relevant now. We desperately need alternatives to old-fashioned pink fairytales in which the inevitable ending is the happy-ever-after marriage of princess and prince after she has been ‘rescued'. In our stage retelling, we’ve leant into Smartypants anarchic nature and the breaking of all sorts of gender stereotypes, with jokes aplenty and a live score by the incredible drummer, Eva Redman.

“I think when I tell you what I want, what makes me happy. I think you need to actually listen to me. Okay?”

Like the protagonist, we’ve injected the show with ambition, high-energy and chaos - it’s overflowing with live music, singing, dancing and silliness. For many watching, this may be their first trip to the theatre and for even more, this will be their first interaction with Cole’s feminist story. It’s amazing to hear the audience laugh their socks off, boo at the toad prince and clap along with our heroine. I’ve loved making a vast number of shows for family audiences, but this one feels particularly special in the bonkers ride we are taking old and young on, and the heart at the centre of it.

We hope that the show empowers all those watching to truly embrace who they are and encourages them to be bold and adventurous, just like the princess at the centre of our story. And to make it the norm for girls to be seen as daring, inventive, independent and clever… and that you can create your own happily-ever-after!

Between the first stages of development and now, I have become a mother to a fiercely independent and very silly two year old. It has been a privilege to bring such a strong feminist message to young audiences across the country, including my own daughter.

Princess Smartypants is at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre from 28 May - 1 June

Production images credit – Paul Blakemore

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