REVIEW: The Ocean At The End Of The Lane at the Mayflower Theatre

The ocean wasn’t only on Southampton’s coastlines tonight, as the Mayflower theatre was flooded with a full house of theatre goers all coming to see ‘The Ocean At The End Of The Lane’. This play adapted from Neil Gaiman’s award winning fantasy novel of the same title may just be one of the best book-to-stage adaptations to date. A bold statement I know. Writers and theatre fanatics both share the same worry about the risk of whether an adaptation will actually work or fall flat on its face; and Neil Gaiman seemed to agree, “I didn’t really know if my story was going to work for the stage”. Well I don’t think it could have worked out much better! 

The work between Gaiman, Joel Horwood (the adaptor) and Katy Rudd (the director) must have been like clockwork in the production of this show. Every little meticulous detail really helped bring the magic of this story alive and make us, the audience feel apart of the ‘magical realism’ within Gaiman’s writing. And that’s exactly what theatre is about isn’t it? The play takes us through the story of fantasy, myth and friendship by tapping into a childhood wonder that was once forgotten and all the darkness that was forgotten with it. The play not only shows us the magic of the story and theatre in general but also tackles some hard hitting topics that come with their own emotional trigger warnings as well. The way in which the cast and crew keep the tone of the play from teetering over the edge of ‘too dark’ or ‘too silly’ is incredible but more on that a little bit later. One thing that I found extremely impressive was just the overall movement of the play. Some of the biggest moments or most impactful moments in the play, actually come at times when there is no dialogue but just a combination of perfectly choreographed movement, lighting and sound effects as well as set design that all created well – magic! 

You can tell that this show is definitely a big operation with lots of different people having to play their part (excuse the theatre pun). The cast were just fantastic. As I’ve already mentioned, their movement was so powerful alone that I think special recognition needs to be given to Katy Rudd the Director and Steven Hoggett the Movement Director for their attention to detail. To remember dialogue is one job, but to remember THAT amount of movement along with it is hard work. Fantastic job! The standout performances had to be that of Keir Ogilvy who played the role of ‘Boy’ and Millie Hikasa who played the role of ‘Lettie Hempstock’. You forgot from the first five minutes that they were adults acting as 12 year old kids, sharing such a strong friendship character bond on stage which they did so well. The emotions that the pair made you feel (especially Ogilvy) was like being on an emotional rollercoaster. Superb! I think a special shoutout also has to be given to Charlie Brooks (Ursula) and Finty Williams (Old Mrs Hempstock), as despite their characters being polar opposites, both performances brought something different to the overall feel of the play helping balance the darker tones with lighter ones as I previously mentioned. The mixture of horror and laughter was divided perfectly and with the correct timing not to interrupt the flow of the storytelling. 

The ensemble who at times acted as stage hands in the vital movement of set were also incredible. They weren’t just coming on mid scene to move set, they became a part of the scene through little expressions or interactions with the cast – a very effective addition that added that extra layer to what is usually an overlooked job. 

The set, sound and lighting helped make this show. The bond between the three just elevated the whole play bringing the magic of Gaiman’s mind to life. Magnificent! Fly Davis (set designer) and Paul Dickinson (lighting designer) went above and beyond to create not only the sense of magic but the feel of it too. On the ground level it looks like quite a simple set, but paired with the lighting changes and movement (of both set and lighting) it gives another different dynamic to the story. There is a large use of strobing mixed with a heavy sound score to overload our senses and help make us feel the horror and fantasy of the novel and it is amazing. I sat in my seat with my heart pounding and adrenaline rising all from the combination of lights, sound, and set movement. Jherek Bischoff (composer) and Ian Dickinson (sound designer) have again worked to create a soundtrack that will make you feel the full range of emotions and make you feel like you were part of what is happening. All of this however would not be half as good without the puppetry and real life magic illusions! The puppetry stems from big monsters, to smaller versions of the actors, to sheets of what can only be described as water (if you know you know). Samuel Weir (costume and puppet designer) is who to thank for this, not forgetting the wonderful cast performing to literally bring Gaiman’s words to life, fantastic! 

For the magic and illusions I don’t want to give any spoilers away as I, along with the whole of the audience, were just blown away by the amount of real-time illusions being used. I’m sure the audible gasps from the audience was just the reaction Jamie Harrison would have been after (magic and illusions director and designer). From little sleight of hand magic tricks to big visual illusions, at times you will be left scratching your head trying to work out what just happened. The lighting, the sound, the puppetry and illusions all work hand in hand and it is so incredibly impressive and sleek. Usually with book adaptations you could come away feeling slightly lost or struggle to keep up with the story line if you were unaware of the story prior to watching. ‘The Ocean At The End Of The Lane’ however did not leave me confused or with questions left to answer at all. The story was easy to follow and the pace of both act 1 and 2 were upbeat and interesting, making sure we were hooked into the plot from the first five minutes. The play involves different time periods and quick jumps from the past to the future which sometimes can also be misinterpreted, but not this time! Just Brilliant! 

Everybody involved in this show is incredible and they all work together fantastically to create something that I believe is a must see play! The show being set in the 80s gives off a sort of ‘Stranger Things’ vibe before stranger things. The play left me leaving the theatre and looking online at where I can get hold of this book and whether there are seats left to go again. ‘The Ocean At The End Of The Lane’ is currently on its UK tour and I would highly recommend this play to anybody interested in theatre. It’s theatre reimagined and I wish everybody involved in this production all the luck and success they deserve.