Review- Something Wicked This Way Comes
Date Reviewed: 24th October, 2008
Venue: The Lowry
A co-production between children’s theatre company Catherine Wheels, and the National Theatre of Scotland, Something Wicked is the perfect half term treat.
Based on Ray Bradbury’s tale of a sinister touring carnival, it’s a production which will appeal to adults as well as children. The book’s essential themes – the excitement of youth versus the regret of middle age – are faithfully rendered. What gives the production its distinctive stamp though are the imaginative flourishes with which director Gill Robertson brings the carnival to life; wire work, live music and multimedia projections included.
Halloween comes early to 1950’s Green Town in the shape of Cooger and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show. For thirteen year old neighbours and best friends James Nightshade (Patrick Mulvey) and William Halloway (Michael Gray), the lure of the funfair is irresistible. But they soon discover that a disturbing secret lies behind the smoke and mirrors of the tattooed Mr Dark’s carnival – a desire which threatens to consume the whole town. Only Jim, Will and Will’s mild-mannered dad can save the day.
The phrase ‘something wicked this way comes’ originates in Macbeth, and is used here to describe Mr Dark himself. Vividly played by Andrew Clark, he’s like a cross between Nick Cave and JR Ewing (a compliment, by the way). What convinces in the pages of a novel doesn’t translate so well to the stage however; Dark is more an archetype than a fully rounded character, and there’s no real motivation for his actions (offering the townsfolk a chance to live out their fantasies before binding them into service). Is he on commission? Still, it’s a minor quibble.
The production is filled with memorable set pieces: a projected snake slithers across the rooftops whenever Mr Dark is close to brokering a deal; a zoetrope of dancing horses moves behind the doors of the town’s clap board horses as Cooger ages backwards on the carousel. Even better is the Dust Witch (Jennifer Paterson) - a terrifying, screeching hag who effortlessly leaps and flies across the stage. The kids loved her.
Adults will be more scared by the scene in which Dark counts down Mr Halloway’s lost, wasted years. Everyone ages, everyone dies.
Like all the best fantasy writers, Bradbury is a perceptive observer of the human condition. This production serves his ideas far more successfully than the anodyne Disney film version.
-Steve Timms