Swallows and Amazons

Our Review:

Gill Kirk - 11 December 2010

This show has much to commend it - not least the delight on children’s faces when onstage action spills into the auditorium - but it’s sometimes just too adult (viz. one song, “It’s boring to be bored”) and not childish enough for a family Christmas show.

It’s emphatically physical, with many tricks and treats for children’s eyes: Titty and Roger’s swimming scene and Uncle Jim’s looming houseboat prow in particular. There’s also a positive nod to ‘09’s Christmas show (Kneehigh’s Hansel & Gretel) with acting musicians onstage, and a wink to director Tom Morris’s own War Horse, as puppet comorants soar through the cast.

After treats for the eye come those for the ear: Neil Hannon (Divine Comedy)’s words and music are a delight, if perhaps too balanced towards adult pastoral tastes (perhaps reflecting nostalgia for childhood). This means there’s not enough musica...

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Latest User Review

Diane - 7 January 2011:

As a big fan of Neil Hannon's music and Helen Edmonson's adaptation of "Coram Boy" was looking forward to this but found it all a bit 1970s theatre in education type production. Hannon's music wasn't able to fly in a production where actors sang a few bars of a song then interrupted with dialogue and the actor/musicians were competent but not as good as a proper orchestra with full time professional musicians. Having said that, most of the audience seemed to be having a good time, the production entered into the spirit of childsplay and the children in the audience seemed engaged. As it is, after all, a children's story the production achieves its goal but would love to see Hannon's music put to better use with a full blown musical....

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