Original, in the sense of new, theatre is a fairly rare commodity these days. Shows are either adaptations of books or television shows or revivals of old, well established plays. There is a lot of good new work around but it is often confined to small studio theatres. Some of these plays will break out into the mainstream but that is exceptional. Producers may lack the imagination or, more likely, think they are playing it safe or cashing-in even, with tried and tested pieces. However, for a producer or writer with imagination and the willingness to be adventurous and to take risks, the back-catalogue of existing stories, whether from stage, screen or page, can provide very rich pickings.

The transition from screen to stage, and vice versa, can be tricky. Plays can lose their intimacy and immediacy when scaled up for the large screen. Stage versions of films are not always successful either. The key to success is imagination, of seeing potential, of distilling the essence of a story and presenting it in a new and exciting way.

Sally Cookson has taken Frederico Fellini’s 1954 Oscar winning masterpiece and, while retaining all the original elements, has produced a piece of innovative, vibrant and exciting theatre that is a near-masterpiece in itself. And it could hardly be called playing safe – out of the half-dozen people, all of whom worked in theatre, with whom I talked prior to seeing the show, none had seen the film and some of them had never heard of it.

La Strada is set in post-war Italy. A widow sells one of her daughters, the simple-minded Gelsomina, to a travelling showman, Zampanò. They travel around he country on his motorbike, he performing his strongman act wherever he can gather an audience, she taking the hat round. They join a circus but Zampanò’s drinking, womanising and volatile temper cause trouble which ultimately ends in tragedy.

So, all the ingredients are in place for Ms Cookson to cast her spell over the proceedings. Along with writer Mike Akers and regular collaborators Benji Bower and Katie Sykes, she has pulled from the hat one of the best pieces of theatre I have seen in a while. Mr Bower’s music, played by the on-stage ensemble, is exuberant and evocative and designer Katie Sykes has produced a sumptuous visual feast of swirling smoke, telegraph poles and colourful costumes which conjure up the road, a circus and 1950s Italy without resorting to any of the usual clichés. The oft overlooked aspect of sound also deserves a mention with Mike Beer’s work adding vital atmosphere to the action. The movement, directed by Cameron Carver, was always exciting and the opening scene with the ensemble, representing the sea, worked perfectly, and, along with other set pieces especially the motorbike scenes, put me in mind of early Berkoff.

Fellini’s wife, Giulietta Masina as the original waifish Gelsomina, was always going to be a hard act to follow but Audrey Brisson made the part her own and her heart-rending performance was faultless. My only regret was that we did not hear more of her incredible singing voice which was not revealed until the very end. Stuart Goodwin made a suitably brutish Zampanò and Bart Soroczynski provided circus skills and sympathy as the kindly clown, Il Matto, who tries to save Gelsomina from her unhappy existence.

Sally Cookson, along with the company of artists she has gathered around her, produces some of the most exciting and original theatre currently extant and you won’t find a better example of it than La Strada.    ★★★★★    Michael Hasted   7^th March 2017 at the Everyman in Cheltenham