可用语言
Mistlethwaite Manor and its inhabitants do not divulge their secrets easily, especially when it comes to the former mistress’s beloved garden. When 10-year-old Mary Lennox arrives, her forthright, determined and curious nature causes a stir among the old routines, and may just help a new way of life to bloom. Writer Tom Wentworth and director Stephanie Kempson’s new reimagining of the beloved novel The Secret Garden has inclusivity and accessibility fused into its core from the ground up, and the result is an adaptation that boasts charm by the bucketload.
The Egg is a wonderfully intimate space that suits this version of the story to a tee, and really amplifies the delightful puppetry work directed by Cat Rock. We are introduced to a crow named Soot, a high fiving hungry squirrel named Acorn and my personal favourite – the lamb called Snowy – he was on my wheelchair’s arm twice both before and during the show and I was completely smitten with him and his trademark bottom wiggle – as were the young girls beside me who found it absolutely hilarious that Snowy didn’t seem to like their dad and kept headbutting his leg and chewing his shoelaces!
It was an utter joy to be in a room full of children and their grown-ups experiencing the immersive and whimsical nature of theatre, maybe for the first time and you can’t help but be carried along by that palpable energy, and let your inner child’s sense of wonder and imagination out. Each performance is relaxed, too – so elements like sound and lighting are adjusted, and patrons can come and go as needed. It’s really heartening to see that as standard practise for a run of a show, rather than a mere handful of performances.
This sense of inclusivity is deeply ingrained in the writing, too. When I interviewed Tom Wentworth in the run-up to this performance, he talked about reframing the story he loved as a child for a modern audience, and how part of that is reclaiming the narratives around disability: in this version, Mary is written as a character with autism, Colin is an ambulatory wheelchair user, and Martha uses a stick to help her get around more easily. What’s remarkable is how easily these elements are incorporated. They do not (as is so often the case around disability) become the force that drives the plot or the way these characters react to one another. It’s simply one small part of the fabric that makes up this theatrical world.
As a wheelchair user who loves this industry but doesn’t always feel represented or welcome within it, those subtle changes spoke volumes. If they can inspire young audiences to remain kind & curious, spark one conversation with the adults around them, or make someone feel seen & valued, then this piece has done what it set out to do!
It’s a much wittier and warmer take on a book that can feel rather bleak at times (even if the humour didn’t always land as firmly as it may have intended), and the love and care in capturing the spirit of the source material whilst introducing original flair are crystal clear, thanks to Kempson's deft touch in direction
What struck from the outset was this tremendous sense of physicality, energy and playfulness in the craft: Linzy Na Nakorn’s lively movement, Kat Heath’s striking design full of moving parts and ingenuity (including doorframes becoming beds, the family portraits coming alive, the garden flowers slowly spread around periodically to show passage of time) and Natalia Chan’s characterful lighting combining to bring this world to life beautifully, complemented by Ben Osborn’s music.
There are occasions where I felt it perhaps teetered on feeling slightly too fast paced and busy, thereby dulling the emotional impact of certain moments a little because you don’t know where to look first, or a scene hits just so and you want to explore it for longer, but these are easily forgiven when you factor in the expectations that come with adapting a familiar piece - certain story beats must be hit, audiences might have an idea of these characters in their minds, and so on.
An incredibly hard–working multi–role ensemble cast holds court here, both as our animal company and as humans! Due to illness, the role of Mary, usually played by Bilqees Khalid, was here played by the assistant director Sarah Astbury. I understand that the change was incredibly last-minute, and therefore Sarah had the script, but her performance was tremendously likeable and assured, making Mary a more endearing character than I have previously found. Jack Hunter’s Colin is charming and layered, full of nuance, as he, too, becomes less spoiled and wants to understand where he belongs.
Warmth and wit abound in Daneka Etchell’s Martha and Daniel Forbes as Dickon, and the four together have some of the strongest and most moving scenes in the entire piece, including a candid conversation about their anxieties about how others perceive them because of their disabilities. Elsewhere, Alice Barclay and Martin Bonger bring quiet tenderness to the otherwise steely Mrs Medlock and Mr Craven.
Proving that it’s both possible and richly rewarding to explore a classic with fresh experiences and intent, this version of The Secret Garden blooms bright.
Read our interview with writer Tom Wentworth about the show here.
The Secret Garden runs at The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath until 26 July
Photo Credits: Lloyd Evans
