The National are at it again; knocking out a huge crowd pleaser with international appeal and bringing it home skipping as light on its feet as ever for a return national tour. I first reviewed the production a couple of years ago when it was stretching its legs at the Bristol Hippodrome. My original assessment after last night’s viewing has not changed and anyone so minded can see my first thoughts here.
Nonetheless sufficient time has elapsed for me to forget much of the detail of that earlier tour from the National Theatre and I was curious to see what might strike me as new and what familiar.
Was it my unreliable memory or did last night’s staging seem richer than before? Certainly there were things I’m pretty sure have gone in to keep the show refreshed: projections of the planets and a wonderfully witty and evocative model train set which heralded the coming scene in which Christopher travels to London, for example. Again, and possibly in part a function of the Theatre Royal’s smaller stage, I had a greater sense of the overall integration of the production: acting, set, music, lighting, video projections, movement – nothing was superfluous, everything pulled its weight. The set, at first blush as simple as you like, is in fact one of the most sophisticated and technically complex you are likely to come across and perfectly reflects the adage that ‘less is more’, but more is great when you need it.
Last night only confirmed my suspicion that the play is really about us, that is all of us – our weaknesses and potential; all that goes to make messy humans a difficult lot. My Martian friends were agog to learn that the straight-line-walking and logical beacon of truth-telling that is Christopher Boone is somehow considered odd. I could only respond that all the emotional intrigue and turmoil that comes with trying to relate, sympathise and empathise with others is part of the fun of being human. This drew blank stares and shaking of heads. I went on to explain that we find it difficult to relate to ‘their sort’ and that the play was in part an attempt to bridge the gap. (I thought detected a sage nod of the head at this) Diversity thy name is human.
The role of Christopher is potentially a career defining part for a young actor and Scott Reid gives an immersive yet physically and emotionally controlled performance that fully justifies the term ‘lead actor’. Playing a character that swings between confusion and certainty (to say nothing of walking on the wall in his imagination) and for whom strong emotions end in extreme physical convulsions, would stretch the most accomplished of actors. Mr Reid finds the role well within his capabilities and gives us a character as sympathetic as it is challenging.
The director, Marianne Elliott, draws a fine contour between the love of a mother (Emma Beattie) and the care of a teacher (Lucianne McEvoy) both of whom are tested (as is dad, David Michaels) and both of whom are rewarded by their perseverance. Her success in bringing the inner world of a troubled individual onto a breathing stage has only been matched in recent seasons on our stages by the incomparable The Father, which we remind ourselves, started life in the Ustinov Studio of the Theatre Royal. The present show is, like the same director’s War Horse, one not to be missed. ★★★★★ Graham Wyles 15th March 2017
