I was lucky enough to be invited by my Sister in Law to watch The Ocean At the End Of The Lane at the Mayflower Theatre a couple of weekends ago and wow what an experience!
Now, I am a musical theatre girl at heart and love nothing more than watching people (or animals-think Lion King) sing and dance around the stage- it just fills my heart with joy-so I wasn’t sure what to expect from watching this production.
In the lead up to the weekend I made the decision to read the book and whilst not my normal choice of genre, it certainly provoked my imagination and made me excited to see how the story would be translated onto the stage.
I was NOT disappointed.
For those that aren’t in the know the story-a best selling novel by Neil Gaiman- follows an unnamed man, who returns to his childhood home for a funeral and whilst his old house is long gone he is drawn to the farm at the end of the lane where at the age of seven he met a little girl called Lettie Hempstock, her mother and her grandmother. As he sits by a duck pond (that Lettie once called ‘The Ocean’) memories of the past and his experiences come flooding back.
As soon as the play started I noticed that it didn’t start from the beginning of the book and as it went on I noticed there were a few plot differences but I imagine it must be hard to translate a whole book into a stage performance and keep the story the exact same. However, I must say that I found the narrative of the play easier to follow than the book!
Right from the start I loved the physical theatre aspects and the way the members of the cast moved the main actors around the stage as if they were climbing through bushes or up trees. so much so it almost seemed as if it was really happening.
The Monster or Flea as it is often referred to in the production was absolutely terrifying, yet so cleverly done I just couldn’t look away.
When Charlie Brooks came on stage I didn’t realise it was her at first, which is a credit to her acting ability. A far cry away from her Janine in Eastenders days. Her costume hair and make-up were also almost exactly as I had imaged her character, Ursula Monckton, to look and her voice and tonality were just as I had imagined she would sound.
My stand out performance of the night was Millie Hikasa who plays Lettie Hempstock. From her accent ,to her mannerisms, to her characterisation-she was just so loveable and believable and was the perfect friend to the boy that had none.
One of the most magical parts was when Lettie asked the boy to step into a bucket of water ( her ocean) to escape being eaten by the hunger birds. The stage was transformed into a beautiful underwater world and Lettie and the Boy became puppets made of light, tumbling and rolling and drifting through the ocean. It was ethereal and otherworldly and both myself and my friend were sat there beaming at the stage. Their joy was palpable.
Without wanting to give any spoilers, the ending felt more emotional than it did in the book-possibly due to Millie Hikasa’s wonderful portrayal of Lettie and almost brought a tear to my eye.
What a rollercoater of emotion throughout-but an enjoyable one at that.
The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is on tour across the UK until the end of November 2023 and I highly recommended you take yourself to see it. An evening of creative culture never did anyone any harm.
