It's a little over five years since I saw a rehearsed reading of Phil Willmott's
musical (songs co-composed with Mark Collins,)
Princess Caraboo, as part of a
Vibrant season at the Finborough, and I guess it's true what they say about the time
it takes to develop a musical, as it's only now that Willmott returns to direct a
full production at the same venue. Based on the true story of a notorious 19th
century hoax that took in polite society, Sir Charles Worrell (Phil Sealey) narrates
the story of how he and Lady Elizabeth (Sarah Lawn) were approached by Spanish
con-man Osvaldo Agathias (Joseph O’Malley,) who claimed to have found a shipwrecked
princess from an unknown land. Princess Caraboo (Nikita Johal) speaks no English,
and the motherly Lady Elizabeth takes a liking to her, so instead of running off
with the silverware as planned, Caraboo sticks around, and meets their nephew Eddie
(Christian James,) who they hope might be able to communicate with her.
