Skellig

Synopsis

Michael has just moved into a new house with his family. The house is a mess, his parents are distracted and his brand new baby sister is seriously ill. Scrambling through a rickety garage at the back of the house, he discovers a strange crumpled character with a liking for leftover Chinese takeaways, spiders and Brown Ale. But there is something strange about Skellig as Michael soon finds out.

Our Review:

4 December 2003

To nab Trevor Nunn for any production at your theatre is a real accomplishment. To get him to premiere a children's Christmas show is a tremendous coup for the Young Vic.

Skellig is based on David Almond's Whitbread award-winning novel of the same name, and from the start, you're reminded of another of Nunn's legendary literary triumphs: Nicholas Nickleby. That 1980 adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic has gone down in theatrical lore and, more recently, has been resuscitated for younger fans through a new DVD release.

Though Skellig never reaches the epic proportions of the eight-and-a-half hour Nickleby (even if, at two-and-a-half hours, it still feels like a mini-marathon, especially for its restless target audience), it arises from the same vein of 'story' theatre, and Nunn draws the comparison between the two productions himself in a programme note. Elsewhere, there are more visible similarities - the us...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (212.211.104.18) - 18 January 2004:

A lovely piece of storytelling with great performances and great staging -it races along, sweeping you up on the way. The children were spellbound (even though I thought some were too young for such a mature play). OK, so the music's naff, but that's no reason to have a downer on another great outing to London's home of quality Christmas shows....

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