Looking for the perfect way to spend the festive season or welcome in the new year?
Well, then, look no further than The Prince of Egypt’s new dinner date experience. Theatre columnist Hannah Shury-Smith shares her thoughts on whether this is the perfect way to treat your boo or bestie this season.
So, what is the dinner date experience? Basically, The Prince of Egypt Musical has partnered with three restaurants local to the Dominion Theatre, so that if you buy tickets to the musical, you also get heavily discounted meals at the partner restaurants, which include Norma and Ampeli.
My restaurant of choice was Norma, a cosy Sicilian restaurant located on Charlotte Street. From the moment we arrived at 5pm and were greeted with a glass of fizz, I knew this was going to be a good night. The starters were excellent: focaccia dipped in extra virgin olive oil, Nocellara olives, and spaghettini fritters dipped in a parmesan sauce. The spaghettini fritters – chunks of fried spaghetti which you dipped into a cheesy sauce – were particularly indulgent on a cold winter’s night.
The main course was equally flavoursome. I had a lamb rump decorated with beetroot, heritage carrots, pomegranate, cumin, and mint. Meanwhile, the vegetarian option of “pasta alla Norma” served with black Iberiko tomatoes, olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper definitely delivered for my friend. The whole meal was polished off with a palette cleanser of Sicilian mango granita before culminating with homemade cannoli filled with sweet ricotta, candied fruits, and pistachio alongside a coffee of your choice.
Service was impeccable throughout the meal. Under a canopy of magical Christmas decorations, the waiters went above and beyond, offering me additional focaccia to mop up the sauce accompanying my lamb rump, and ensured that our meal was complete within two hours – enough time to make the start of the show at 7.30pm.
While the Norma Restaurant was located only 7 minutes away from the Dominion Theatre, it is worth noting that there were large queues going into the theatre. It took about 10 minutes of queueing time before we could get into the theatre, so make sure you get to the theatre at least 10-20 minutes before the show starts.
And then the show began! Based on the classic Dreamworks Animation film, The Prince of Egypt tells the story of Moses from being the adoptive son of an Egyptian royal family to freeing the Israelites from enslavement. In itself, the story is powerful and resounding, but with the support of Sean Cheesman’s evocative choreography performed by a supremely talented chorus of dancers, as well as spellbinding stage effects, The Prince of Egypt musical elevated the story to another level.
Particularly stand-out moments were Alexia Khadime’s performance of When You Believe, the staging of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, and, of course, the absolutely mesmerising way in which the parting of the Red Sea was staged. The parting of the Red Sea was utterly unique, and I would recommend you come and see the show if only to see how the show managed to pull it off.
After a hard year, The Prince of Egypt musical is the epitome of fun theatrical escapism. And, with the dinner date experience, this was the perfect way to uplift my spirits this dark winter season.
The Prince of Egypt runs until 8 January 2022 at the Dominion Theatre and tickets are available at theprinceofegyptmusical.com
For more information about the dinner date experience, follow this link.