The Light Princess, National Theatre

It has been six years in the making, and there’s talk of a princess who floats in the first half and swims in the second; no surprise, then, at the hype surrounding American singer-songwriter Tori Amos’ musical theatre debut, The Light Princess, which plays at the National Theatre until the beginning of 2014.

Directed by Marianne Elliott, whose War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time both premiered at the National before being transferred to the West End, this long-awaited production promises to be no ordinary musical. After all, National Theatre director Sir Nicholas Hytner isn’t interested in Broadway-style shmaltz, preferring something deeper and more challenging.

The turning point came two years ago, when Hytner sent Amosand her co-lyricist Samuel Adamson back to the drawing board with the injunction: 'Go darker, be brave. You can say things to teenagers and adults that will resonate with them when they leave the theatre.'

An entire re-write later, we now have the result: a 21st century take on Scottish writer George MacDonald’s Victorian fairytale about a princess and warrior prince from opposing kingdoms, both mourning the deaths of their mothers in different ways: the princess by becoming quite literally light with grief, and the prince weighted down by his heavy heart. But whilst MacDonald’s princess lacks gravity in the sense of being unable to take anything seriously, Amos’s is more emotionally damaged, her lightness coming from an unwillingness to confront anything dark.

Music, dance, circus skills, puppetry, animation and aerial effects are woven together in this imaginative staging. It’s booking until 9 January but, if it becomes the new War Horse, it could run and run.

Ticket price: £12-£48