TOM\u2019S MIDNIGHT GARDEN<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Playhouse Theatre, Cheltenham<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saturday 14th December 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2019Tis the season\nto be jolly… While Cinderella pulls in the punters at the Everyman, down the\nway at the intimate Cheltenham Playhouse, Bishops Cleeve-based Dreamshed have\njust opened their Yuletide account with David Wood\u2019s adaptation of Philippa\nPearce\u2019s Tom\u2019s Midnight Garden which runs until Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ll be totally\nfrank: not knowing the original book at all, I came to this production with an\nentirely open mind and what turned out to be a raft of totally misplaced\npreconceptions. I expected a beautiful wintry setting, twinkling fairy lights,\nperhaps a passing unicorn, an enchantress casting magic spells and a smattering\nof sweet songs. No such luck. But what I did get was an absorbing, almost dark\nand Shakespearean interpretation that owed much to that old theatrical adage Less\nis More, and even The Woman in Black, which is exactly how many of the eight-strong\ncast were costumed for much of this decidedly alternative nostalgiafest. While\nit is set chiefly during the late Victorian age, in their 1950s long grey shorts,\nsleeveless sweaters and pinafore dresses, they could easily have stepped straight\nout of The Railway Children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a lot of\nmime and clever improvisation in this production, leaving the audience to fill\nin the many blanks. The set is merely a low stone wall and some adaptable triangular\nblocks that morph on cue into beds, tables and chairs; only the beautifully lit\nclock-cum-moon remains constant, casting its silvery glow over what we have to\nimagine is Tom\u2019s mystical midnight garden. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, don\u2019t expect a\npantomime, but it\u2019s still a good old-fashioned tale that should warm the\nproverbial cockles during these rain-sodden December days, and there\u2019s a clever\ntwist to it all which caught me totally off guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under Bill\nCronshaw\u2019s deft direction, the capable cast carry it all impressively before them,\ndelivering their lines with almost monastic grandeur. You may well find the phrase\n\u201cTime no longer!\u201d re-echoing in your mind for some while to come, as will images\nof Alex Lewer\u2019s dim but highly atmospheric lighting in mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you feel\nstressed out by the relentless tide of this year\u2019s Christmas jollifications\n(and the election), spend a couple of restful and pleasant hours at the Playhouse\nand relive a time that is long gone, but which will prove a gentle tonic as\n2019 draws to a close. Merry Christmas,\neveryone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simon Lewis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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