Photo: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg
Adapted from the bestselling Neil Gaiman book, Ocean At The End Of The Lane began its run tonight at Regent Theatre. Neil Gaiman is best known for ‘Coraline’ which was turned into an animated blockbuster as well as ‘Good Omens’ which recently began its second series on streaming services starring David Tenant and Michael Sheen.
The story follows an unnamed man who returns home for a family funeral. He revisits an old farmhouse where he remembers the young girl ‘Lettie Hempstock’ and is drawn to their duck pond in her farm which she referred to as an ‘Ocean’. The unnamed man then is transported back into a magical world to his twelfth birthday, and his first meeting with Lettie.
Cue a fabulous fantasy tale of battling monsters who live on the edge of our world called ‘the fleas’ and an evil that threatens their world.
There is a 12+ guidance as you are drawn into the fantasy horror elements of the evil forces of ‘the fleas; as well as the feeling of isolation as the children make their way throughout their journey.
Naturally, in describing this, the term ‘Stranger Things’ is likely to appear somewhere, only to compare the stunning effects, the mixture of horror and fantasy and of course, adolescents as the protagonists. Don’t get too hung up on that however, yes absolutely fans of that show will enjoy this, but as someone who is fairly lukewarm about the franchise, I though this production was amazing.
Keir Ogilvy as the boy and Millie Hikasa as Lettie are amazing as two youngsters thrown together in this magical world. Their portrayals of children going through this unique and thrilling journey are filled with child-like emotions of awe, as well as dealing with their fears through to sheer horror and take the audience with them on their rollercoaster journey.
Trevor Fox brings such versatility as the boy’s father, but also doubles as the older version of the boy, two hugely different roles. Trevor portrays the obvious struggle of the boy’s father as a widower in which he struggles keeping family life going, as well as the survivors guilt he feels. Trevor does such a fantastic job, its really emotive watch at some points as you get so immersed.
Charlie Brooks is amazing as Ursula. The way she manipulates and embeds her way into the household, and the way she delivers with an evil smile is brilliantly chilling and was everything you want a villain to be.
Kemi-Bo Jacobs and Finty Williams as Mrs Hempstock and Old Mrs Hempstock respectively were excellent and played their parts well.
Take nothing away at all from the ensemble cast who brought so much to this production, seamlessly moving the amazing set around in an amusing fashion, creating the eerie and awesome backdrops and bringing life to the fantasy world created before your eyes in a marvellous way.
Also, if you get the chance, pick up a programme. It has a great article by Tara Prescott-Johnson on the work of Neil Gaiman as well as a three page note from the man himself.
Ocean At The End Of The Lane isn’t just a stage experience, its a completely immersive experience. The soundtrack is exquisite, the set and lighting and effects are nothing short of stunning and the cast are fantastic. It’s on until 16th September and I highly recommend you go and see this. Tickets are available here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane/regent-theatre/
