The ocean at the end of the lane

Review by Paul Towers, 31/1/23

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane adapted by Joel Norwood based on the novel by Neil GaimanJoel

Directed by Katy Rudd

Produced by National Theatre

At Curve til Saturday 11 February 2023

“visually spectacular adaptation”

 EDIT: At last night's Press Night Boy was played by Daniel Cornish

How to explain this visually spectacular adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s classic tale? From the weird imagination that spawned books such as Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett) The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is a delicious mixture of fairy tale and the fevered dreams of a pubescent boy struggling to make sense of his world.

Boy (we are never given his name) is angry with the world for taking his mother away; his father is too busy providing for boy and his sister to give them the time they need, he even introduces a ‘nanny’ into the household to help with the children, the evil Ursula.  In this emotional vacuum Boy wanders into the enchanted clutches of the neighbours and their young daughter, Lettie. From there we get a mash up of Cinderella, Hansel & Gretel and every other fairy tale created to scare children. Only this is given the Neil Gaiman supernatural horror twist and we are plunged into a world of monsters, magic and the supernatural.

Keir Ogilvy as Boy is never off the stage and causes mayhem by doing what every 12 year old does. Never what he is told! Millie Hikasa as Lettie is by his side throughout and together they fight the demons. Trevor Fox as both Dad and modern day Boy provides a mature influence, when he can. Finty Williams as Old Mrs Hempstock is the wise old witch. The villain of the piece is Charlie Brooks,  Ursula, who is having a great time both roaring her dominance and being centre to all sorts of theatrical illusions. Kudos must be paid to the ensemble who deserve praise not only for their balletically choreographed scene changing but also for their nightmarish monsters.

Hugely atmospheric music is provided by Jherek Bischoff and a full orchestra, while special audio effects (and there are plenty) are created by Ian Dickinson. Lighting, also very integral to the story, is designed by Paula Constable. Special mention has to be made of the puppetry created by Samuel Wyer. The magic and illusions (and there are loads) were provided by Jamie Harrison. The set, a woodland, was designed by Fly Davis and had a life of its own.

The entire production is so theatrically perfect that I could cover pages listing the myriad of genius artistes responsible.

While the production runs at Curve until 11 February there are some special performances in the run. On Wednesday 1^st Feb there is a captioned performance; on Saturday 4^th February there is a BSL Interpreted performance and on Wednesday 8^th Feb there is an Audio Described performance.

This show is a feast for the eyes and ears so get a ticket while you can

 EDIT: At last night's Press Night Boy was played by Daniel Cornish

www.curveonline.co.uk

www.ptheatre.blogspot.co.uk