KENSUKE'S KINGDOM.
Tour
KENSUKE’S KINGDOM
by Michael Morpurgo adapted by Stuart Paterson.
Birmingham Stage Company Tour to 15 July 20.
Runs 1hr 40min One interval.
Review: Timothy Ramsden 24 March ay Gateway Theatre Chester.
Stay with it: this story grows as it goes on.
Author Michael Morpurgo having been Children’s Laureate, and adapter Stuart Paterson having long been Scottish theatre’s ‘Mr Christmas’, this production ought to have a lot going for it. And it has – after a bit. Initially, setting up the backstory of a family that’s suffered a separation, and getting them trained to crew a round-the-world yacht trip, keeps the play in dramatic shallows.
But once young Michael falls overboard and lands with his dog Stella on the island of orang-utans where Kensuke has lived since the atom bombs fell on his homeland, the new family this island provides deepens the drama. Michael and Kensuke develop a warm trust, even if the way they continue addressing each other recalls the distance there was at first between them. The old man calls the boy ‘Micah’ while his own name, which he pronounces lightly as ‘Ken s’- ke’ comes with an accented central syllable, ‘Ken-soo-ke’, from the boy.
Kensuke’s mission is saving the animals from marauding hunters who regularly ship in with guns to collect pelts. Michael’s help focuses on one set of mother and child orang-utans, so that throughout the parent/child relationship remains central to the play. A story that began with the family uncertainties between Michael’s parents (exacerbated by his baleful grandmother hurling her warnings at them) ends appropriately with Michael able to repair another family.
For the boy who learned little at school finds new purposes in knowledge aboard ship; in particular his daily log inspires a literary interest which culminates in a book about his time on the island. This brings him into contact with Kensuke’s son, who is glad to learn what happened to his long-lost father. A strong story, and Greg Banks’ fast-moving production, aided by Matthew Scott’s pacy musical interventions, is well worth sticking with.
Michael: Iain Ridley.
Kensuke: Ozzie Yue.
Mum: Julia Hickman.
Dad: Mark Carleton.
Stella: Anna Drayson.
Michiya: Neil Suarez.
Grandmother: Hannah Birkin.
Director: Greg Banks.
Designer/Costume: Jacqueline Trousdale.
Lighting: Jason Taylor.
Sound: Tom Lishman.
Music: Matthew Scott.
Movement: Peter Elliott.
2006-04-02 14:33:29