HOW TO BEAT A GIANT. To 2 December.
London
HOW TO BEAT A GIANT
by Diane Samuels.
Unicorn Theatre (Clore Auditorium) To 2 December 2007.
Tue-Sun various dates 10.45am, 1.45pm, 2.30pm, 3pm
Runs 1hr No interval
TICKETS: 020 7645 0560.
www.unicorntheatre.com
Review: Timothy Ramsden 20 November.
A story compact as a bedroom, wide-ranging as the imagination.
What’s a story for? Young Sniff and his dominant older sister Lenny want something different from their regular bedtime tale of giants, something with an unhappy ending. Until the lights are out and, with childminder Jo standing guardian at the bedroom door, they decide to re-enact the story of Molly Whuppie, who outsmarted giants, in their own room.
Provoked by the fiery and quarrelsome Lenny, who grabs the role of Molly, the young boy takes on the roles around her. But the imagination has ways of taking over, and suddenly a real giant enters the action, bringing new fears and a desperate search for another happy end.
It’s a process where adult authority is sublimated, the stern but friendly Jo appearing in fantastic garb, with red-streaked hair, as the Giant. And where young Lenny learns about herself and the advantages of sharing with her brother rather than dominating him all the time.
Diane Samuels’ script, aimed at 7+, allows young audiences to laugh without taking away from the story’s forward thrust. And the Giant’s sudden appearance is a truly gasp-worthy moment. Director Titania Krimpas keeps the action’s momentum strong, while Emma Wee provides a safe and solid-looking room with bunk-beds, Mark Dymock’s lighting making the audience aware at appropriate moments of the story-world: a tree with giant vegetables behind the suddenly semi-transparent walls, fairy-lights on a toy castle, skipping-ropes luminous as the hair-bridge Molly must cross.
And there are well-judged performances. Antonia Kemi Coker contrasts the everyday, sensible Jo, up to children’s tricks, with the commanding Giant, while Leander Deeny’s nervously eager Sniff contrasts Ellie Piercy’s Lenny, who approaches the borderland of bullying while maintaining a positive energy and alertness.
It’s altogether one Giant story for its sibling characters, one fine play for young audiences.
Jo/Giant: Antonia Kemi Coker.
Sniff: Leander Deeny.
Lenny: Ellie Piercy.
Director: Titania Krimpas.
Designer: Emma Wee.
Lighting: Mark Dymock.
Sound/Composer: Ben Glasstone.
Movement: Marcello Marascalchi.
Dialect coach: John Wild.
2007-11-21 09:02:14