It's an evening of startling illusions and puppetry: The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is hallucinogenic, creepy and beautiful all at once
The Ocean At The End Of The Lane
Duke Of York's Theatre, London Until May 14, 2hrs 20mins
Rating: 
Blue/Orange
Theatre Royal Bath Until December 4, 2hrs 15mins
Rating: 
I gave The Ocean At The End Of The Lane five stars when it was at the National Theatre in 2019. Now it’s in the West End, five stars seems stingy. Neil Gaiman’s haunting novel, adapted by Joel Harwood, looks even better in its new home.
It’s an evening of startling illusions and puppetry – expect a giant arachnid and some hellacious vultures! – all in the service of a story scary enough to be recommended for the over-12s. I jumped out my skin, twice.
It starts with a middle-aged man (Nicolas Tennant) attending his father’s funeral. From there we are time-warped back to his 12th birthday. The boy’s (James Bamford) mum is dead, his kid sister is a pest, and Dad can’t even make toast.
The boy (James Bamford) is introduced by local farm girl Lettie Hempstock (Nia Towle, above with Bamford) to the duck pond, actually an ocean portal into another world
Into their home comes a cheerful lodger (Laura Rogers), radiating malice and mind control. She has been ‘let in’ when the boy is introduced by local farm girl Lettie Hempstock (Nia Towle) to the duck pond, actually an ocean portal into another world.
Directed by Katy Rudd, the evening is hallucinogenic, creepy and beautiful all at once. But its themes of submerged grief and childhood memory keep things fully human.
There’s nothing around to beat this thrillingly imaginative show, which leaves you feeling wrung out.
Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall is 21 years old. It gets a new lease of life in James Dacre’s cracking new production featuring Hamilton star Giles Terera as a pompous psychiatrist who brutally battles his junior shrink (Ralph Davis) over the release of a black patient, Christopher.
The ace up the show’s sleeve is Michael Balogun’s devastatingly sympathetic portrayal of a guy who thinks he may just be the son of the dictator Idi Amin.
This robust drama about racial/cultural bias in a crummy health system still feels bang on the money.
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
