REVIEW | The Secret Garden, Theatre at the Tabard
Daisy Rae as Mary in the Garden. Credit: Charles FlintWritten by Cathie
Disclaimer: gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hogson Burnett is a well-known gentle story of loneliness, overcoming adversity and grief and the power that nature has in healing us through our own personal winters. The story follows the story of Mary Lennox (Daisy Rae, making her professional stage debut) arrives from India during the height of the British Empire to live with her uncle, the gruff, grieving but essentially well meaning widower Archibald Craven (Richard Lounds), after her parents death. Mary Lennox is portrayed as a spoiled and exceptionally unlikable child but, during her time at Craven Manor, slowly learns how to play, how to socialise and how to heal into a more well rounded positive person through finding the Secret Garden.
Many of us first come across this tale in our childhoods or have watched the iconic 90’s film but this play is a fairly faithful adaptation of the original book and nods to the film’s adaptation as well. The pacing is quite gentle, we don’t even meet Colin until after the interval, but this is faithful to the original story and is quite a nice change of pace from the usual rush, bang, wallop of other festive productions currently taking place and feels rather refreshing. With genuine moments of pathos, mixed with delightful humour this is classed as a children’s story but there isn’t anything childish about it. Individuals from six to ninety-six will absolutely adore this production.
The cast were utterly brilliant at bringing the well known characters to life and retained their absolute originality, including the unlikeable elements that are so key to the characters. Daisy Rae as Mary Lennox and Sam McHale as Colin Craven both have performed brilliantly in their debuts, they really encapsulated the physical and emotional growth of these characters in a nuanced progression over the course of the play. Both are revitalized by the ‘air of the moors’ and their slow development of Yorkshire accents are a nice detail by both performers. Freya Alderson was fabulous at portraying the brusque but kindly Mrs Medlock, and as chief puppeteer was brilliant at using the robin, the animal star of the show, to underscore and further key plot elements. Richard Lounds duos as both the wounded aristocratic Archibald Craven and grouchy gardener Ben Weatherstaff and switches between these characters with complete confidence. Mari Luz Cervantes as Martha Sowerby spectacularly portrays the sincere warmth and no-nonsense care that Mary so desperately needs in this story. Jordan Rising as Dickon Sowerby was my absolute favourite in this show. Completely confident and relaxed on stage, he brings the etherealness of the moors to the Tabard just by his presence. He brilliantly showcases the magic of Dickon and his care of the animals, played by some spectacularly cute puppets, and makes the magical elements of the story that much more believable.
The set, although small, was incredibly mighty. Designer Hazel Owen and lighting designer Nat Green have definitely excelled in bringing the story to life. The depiction of entering the secret garden was brilliantly inventive and used the small space to reflect a peaceful garden beautifully well. It really lent a feeling of cozy mystery and joy to the play’s atmosphere. It was also impressive how they showed the garden changing slowly over the course of the plot.
This show is a delight for all ages. If you want a genuinely wholesome family friendly festive show which isn’t a pantomime and will remind you of spring’s gentle healing warmth, this cozy show is definitely for you.
At Theatre at the Tabard until 31 December 2023.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
