Noël Coward Theatre – until 25th November 2023
Reviewed by Amber Mills
4****
Based on Neil Gaiman’s short 2013 novel, this seemingly simple story is of a man who revisits his childhood where he discovers friendship for the first time and copes with the aftermath of his mother’s death. He’s transported to his 12th birthday when his friend Lettie claimed it wasn’t a pond, but an ocean…
Plunged into a magical world, their survival depends on their ability to reckon with ancient forces that threaten to destroy everything around them.
As the lights slowly dimmed and the tranquil music of the overture played it transported me into the supernatural land. There were many moments in the show where I was gripping onto my seat as the sheer intensity of the actors, especially when moving through the audience, was spine tingling. It felt like you were actually living and breathing their world.
This show had quite a small ensemble, however these people had to multi-role and do everything from the movement scenes to puppetry which I think is a skill in itself. A special mention to Charlie Brookes who plays Ursula/Skarthach. Her performance was so captivating and musical that I lost where I was. This just proves Charlies doing her job very well. Every actor should make us feel a certain way and she did just that. There’s no other words to describe her intelligent talent.
Furthermore, the adults who were playing the ‘children’ in the show were incredibly focused and actually when watching I forgot they were adults as they did such a great job of conveying childlike characteristics that they felt like real children.
The set is simple but effective and the use of lighting throughout really carries the plot forward and complements the feelings of characters. The use of illusion and magic elevates the performance as it adds a sense of realness to the piece.
The score is very eerie and it put me on edge when watching. From a person who’s never read or seen this I was on the edge of my seat for most of the show because I didn’t know what to expect next. The theatre was literally screaming with fear for the entirety of the performance. The Ocean at the end of the lane is a fantasy drama and this type of escapism is something that many people find exciting.
There were some more intense action scenes in Act 2 that were all executed beautifully. But there’s an especially beautiful tear jerking scene when they go into the “ocean”. It was a stunning mix between set, props, lighting and sound that made you feel like you’re swimming. This Sci-Fi, modern fantasy musical has all the elements that make up this beautiful world and most importantly creates lots of atmosphere and entrances the audience, just like sci-fi films do. I fully believe that this cast did just that as everyone was just gripped in in the action the entirety of the performance.
Overall, every aspect of this musical from the set design and music to the actors really brought you into the story. This musical is a rollercoaster for emotions as you go from feeling moved to terrified to elegiac. This is a definite watch as I feel most musical theatre can become very the same, whereas this musical brings a different energy and feeling. Make sure you get your tickets as this ends at the Noël Coward Theatre on the 25th November 2023!