ALTHOUGH one of the best-loved stories of the last century, Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s enchanting novella The Little Prince is not performed on stage enough.

It’s certainly no common choice for a Christmas production, possibly because the classic children’s fable of love, war, imagination and greed can seem a daunting story to perform for five and six-year-olds.

Yet writer Sally Pomme Clayton and director Marie McCarthy pull it off in this charming version in which a pilot, who’s crashed his plane in the desert, forms an unlikely friendship with a young prince from asteroid B-612.

He is travelling across the universe to prove to his love, a petulant and selfish rose growing on the asteroid, that he is a good friend.

In the cast of only three performers, the commendable Comfort Fabian as the Prince is childlike, charming and sweet — if a little over the top at times — and she is ably supported by Vera Chok and Royce Cronin, indefatigable in a number of roles, including the pilot and the rose.

Added to the mix are a few catchy tunes and dance numbers with a panto feel which, although occasionally interrupting the narrative flow, keep younger audience members entertained, even if at points the story feels somewhat dumbed down and rushed in consequence.

Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable production of what’s an exquisite and timeless tale.

Runs until December 30, box office: omnibus-clapham.org.