THE LOWRY, SALFORD – UNTIL SUNDAY 8TH JANUARY 2023
REVIEWED BY MIA BOWEN
5*****
From the imagination of Neil Gaiman, best-selling author of Coraline, Good Omens and The Sandman, comes the dark fantasy novel, The Ocean At The End Of The Lane. It was voted 2013 Book of the Year, amongst other honours, in the British National Book Awards. Joel Horwood’s new stage adaptation recreated the dreamlike wonderment of Gaiman’s novel. It spectacularly came to life at The Lowry last night and was more than exceptional storytelling, it was an extraordinary piece of theatre, inexplicable and remarkable.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as we took our seats but by the end of it, I was blown away by this visually unbelievable production. Katy Rudd and Horwood, cleverly and convincingly brought alive the stuff of childhood imagination, nightmares, the disappointment of adulthood and family trauma. This production superbly captured the experience of Boy’s childhood, not what actually happened but what it felt like.
We meet our unnamed protagonist as an adult at his father’s funeral. He wanders to visit a nearby duck pond he recognises from his youth. Here he meets the mystical Old Mrs Hempstock, who is old enough to remember “when the moon was made”. We are taken with him on a journey into a magical world of adventure, where his survival depends on his ability to reckon with dark forces that threaten to destroy everything around him.
Although the performances were breath-taking, the real stars of the show must be the production team; Fly Davis’s constantly evolving set design, the flowing choreography of Steven Hoggett, the desperate and menacing electric 80’s music by composer Jherek Bischoff that gives a nod to Stranger Things and Paulie Constable’s lighting that makes it possible to go between realms. Jamie Harrison’s magic and illusions and Samuel Wyer’s costumes and puppets makes the audience wonder what is real and what is magic. All the team and cast, as a whole ensures that The Ocean At The End of the Lane is a victorious theatre show and makes the audience gasp in fear and wonder – the magical realism is a pure spectacle.