To create a play for young children is to take on an enormous responsibility. As Minotaur’s writer Adam Peck has acknowledged, the majority of his intended audience will never have seen any live professional theatre before – ‘my play would be their first play’. He has an impressive track record in this area; his Cinderella: A Fairytale won the Off West End Award for Best Production for Young People 2014. For this production he visited primary schools and asked what kind of play was wanted. He was told, ‘blood and guts, and fighting… and a love story.’ Peck has fulfilled this brief admirably; indeed, he has exceeded it, skillfully slimming down the original Greek myth but leaving plenty for a young audience to chew over.
After touring over twenty schools in Sedgemoor, Minotaur has come to the Old Vic, where the black- walled space of the Studio is used to great advantage, not least in the opportunities it offers for dramatic lighting. From the start it is clear that there is no division between cast and audience; there are no seats, though adults who find sitting on the floor for over an hour a little daunting can retreat to more comfortable benches. This is immersive, robust theatre. The Minotaur sends the children scuttling and squealing in fear and delight as he prowls the labyrinth; and Aegeus demands that fourteen of them be sacrificed to the monster – on the day I saw the production the whole audience willingly volunteered!
The performances are excellent, pitched at just the right level to engage first-time theatre-goers. I greatly enjoyed Roddy Peters’ energetic portrayal of King Minos, full of rage, spite and vengefulness. Malcolm Hamilton is a convincingly compromised, wavering King Aegeus; Jack Holden in contrast is suitably noble and brave as his young son Theseus. A highlight is his recounting of his many heroic deeds, acted out with slapstick gusto by Peters and Hamilton, temporarily playing a couple of oafish Athenian lads before resuming their more regal duties. Music is used to great effect throughout: a crescendo of drumming underlines impending danger one moment, Ariadne soothes her brother’s rage with gentle cello the next. The aforementioned slapstick sequence is accompanied by some mean electric guitar from Jessica Macdonald, who deserves particular praise both for her contribution as Musical Director and for her feisty but conflicted Ariadne, torn between love for a monstrous brother and her desire for freedom.
Perhaps the energy level drops a little once Theseus begins to head back home, but overall this is an immensely engaging production, full of excitement and variety. Above all, I liked the fact that the young audience is not patronized. Weighty themes are explored, including loyalty, loss and the need for love. Children will find that Minotaur is great fun, but they will also find much to talk about. This myth is a hit! ★★★★★ Mike Whitton
Minotaur picture by Paul Blakemore
Rehearsal photographs by Patrick Graham
