Review: Happily Ever Never
Updated: Aug 20
📍 Studio, theSpace @ Niddry Street
🗓️ 18th August 2026
🎟️ PR Invite
Written by Lydia Baggaley, Happily Ever Never follows the four cast members of Princess Party Planners as they prepare for an upcoming ball. But ‘Princess’ isn’t sure that this job is for her anymore and over the 50-minute runtime, we watch a series of hilarious interactions, heartwarming discoveries and have a lot of fun in the process.
The Party Planners burst onto the stage in a flurry of princess costumes and big wide-eyed smiles, which pulled me into this performance immediately.
Dressed as the well-known Disney characters we all recognise - but for copyright reasons the Party Planners have to hilariously choose different names for - we follow the preparations for the upcoming ball, which gives them a chance to show off their talents. But as the show progresses, we get a snapshot into their own lives, struggles and things they need to process.
The cast in this show are really fantastic. They take on the over-the-top dramatics of being a princess, with wide-eyed smiles and hilarious but harmless audience interactions, before ultimately discovering who they are beneath it all and realising what they want in life. These feelings and dramatic shifts in emotion are all captured wonderfully by the cast, who bounce off one another’s energy so well. The choreography scene was also really wonderful to watch.
The flow of the performance works really well, blending the mix of humour and darker moments without affecting the pacing of the piece. The story arc works well for the runtime and I didn’t feel that any storylines were rushed.
I particularly enjoyed how ‘Princess’ revealed her thoughts and struggles through reading to the audience like it was a fairytale, it really illustrates how she was feeling and her concerns in a calmer manner in between all the chaos of rehearsals.
This story may be about the Princess Planners rehearsing for a ball but there are much deeper themes running through the piece that become clear very quickly. The show serves as a reminder that it’s ok to be scared and anxious but to not let it hold you back from doing what you really want to do…and love who you want to love. These characters go on a journey of self-discovery and it’s a really heartwarming piece that captures the essence of this.
This 50-minute piece really drew me in - it’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s queer and there’s an important message that runs through it…with a lot of fun mixed in!
Happily Ever Never continues its run at theSpace @ Niddry Street until 19 August at 17:05.
