Ellen Couzens enjoys a beautifully crafted piece of storytelling combining a range of theatrical styles
I remember, as a very young child, feeling absolute joy and wonder at what was probably my very first visit to the theatre to see Peter Pan at the Bristol Hippodrome and wishing it wouldn’t come to an end. I loved that feeling of being completely absorbed into the story playing out in front of me and that, without even realising it, I had been transported somewhere altogether different.
This experience has left me with an enduring expectation that, no sooner have the main theatre lights dimmed and the expectant hush has fallen over the audience, for the next few hours I will be completely immersed in the other world of the characters on stage and the events unfolding before me.
I’m very happy to report that The Ocean At The End Of The Lane at the Theatre Royal Bath did just that.
Directed by Katy Rudd and adapted for stage by Joel Horwood, this National Theatre production is a retelling of the novel of the same name by acclaimed writer, Neil Gaiman. In true Gaiman style – think the film Stardust starring Claire Danes and Robert De Niro, or Good Omens the Amazon Prime series adaptation starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen – this story reflects Gaiman’s usual imaginative recipe of complex characters and fantastical happenings, all brought together with a large measure of myth and folklore.
From the minute the audience takes their seats for this production, the mystery and foreboding that runs through this entire story is tangible as we are confronted by the towering mass of bleak, skeletal woodland of the sprawling back drop which frames the stage on all sides and will set the tone for the entire performance.
The story opens with a funeral and a middle aged man recalled to his childhood home. Unconsciously finding himself on the land of an elderly lady, conversation between the two unwind and he begins to unearth long-forgotten memories of strange events that happened shortly after his 12th birthday.
He recalls how a horrifying discovery in his Dad’s abandoned car leads to a friendship with ‘young’ Lettie Hempstock and starts a chain reaction of events that will plunge him into a magical but dark world of ancient forces and allow a sinister and terrifying monster into his family from which, only Lettie, her mother and her Grandmother, Old Mrs Hempstock, can save them.
I was absolutely blown away by the visual mastery of this production. The stage set was so cleverly manipulated to move the audience, one minute from the warm and welcoming interior or the Hempstock’s homely farmhouse, illuminated with by old fashioned gas lanterns hanging from an invisible ceiling, to the next where we were travelling underwater in ‘The Ocean’ as waves of shimmering water enveloped ‘Boy’ and his friend Lettie.
This production was a masterpiece of imaginative stage design combined with breathtaking lighting effects and accompanied by a retro 80s synth style score, that would not have been out of place in Stranger Things. Add in some skilfully choreographed puppetry, both on an enormous scale – think giant black vultures cross Harry Potter-esque Dementors on a very small scale – and the effect is at times terrifying and at others beautifully ethereal.
This are certainly many dark and, at times, genuinely sinister moments during this production (this may be overwhelming for younger and more sensitive children), which is very much in-keeping with the original book. However, this adaptation sees some more comical moments that provide a flash of light relief and a chance get a more rounded sense of who the characters are.
There are some solid and convincing performances, in particular from Trevor Fox who plays both the Dad and the middle aged man, as well as from ‘Young Lettie’, played by Millie Hikasa and her grandmother, ‘Old Mrs Hempstock’, played by Finty Williams. Acknowledgements also need to go to the supporting cast who moved artfully and beautifully in and out of in and out of scenes like stark black shadows, helping create some of the most dramatic moments in this production.
This is an unforgettable production the likes of which don’t come along all that often. Thankfully it’s touring at The Theatre Royal, Bath from 7th to 18th March 2023. For more information and to book tickets, go to www.theatreroyal.org.uk