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The Secret Garden
By Lizzie Loveridge
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From death she casts her spell
All night we hear her sighs And now a girl has come Who has her eyes -- Neville in "Lily's Eyes" |
Nathalie Morgan
(Photo: Manuel Harlan) |
Adrian Noble's Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Lucy Simon's (sister of Carly Simon) musical is a pretty to look at, well sung interpretation but deviates quite drastically in story line and theme from the original. It played on Broadway about ten years ago. Whilst being a pleasant way to pass an evening, none of the tunes is particularly memorable on first hearing which does not seem to have interfered with the musical's success on its outing at the RSC's base in Stratford.
The story is of Mary Lennox (Nathalie Morgan/Eliza Caird/Tamsin Egerton), the little girl who is orphaned by cholera in India and sent to live with her reclusive uncle, Archibald Craven (Philip Quast) in a big house near the North Yorkshire moors. She has led an isolated life being looked after by her ayah, Indian nanny and has quite a prickly personality. Uncle Archibald is widowed and grieving for his wife Lily (Meredith Braun) who was sister to Mary's mother Rose (Carmen Cusack). Archibald and Lily's son, Colin (Eddie Brown/Adam Clarke/Luke Newberry), is a delicate child is confined to his bed by Dr Neville Craven (Peter Polycarpou) and Mary discovers him by accident. After Mary discovers a mysterious, locked up and overgrown garden, she persuades the delicate cousin to go outside and slowly he gets healthy.
Of the largely derivative, rather "samey" music -- gentle English folk music or romantic ballads -- "The Letter Song" sung as a duet between Mary and Archibald and the stirring ballad "Hold On" sung by Martha stand out. The music is not uplifted by the banality of Marsha Norman's lyrics. The frequent appearance of the mothers makes for mawkish sentiment and is the worst deviation from the novel.
The performance from Nathalie Morgan as 10 year old Mary is delightfully determined. With her strong and pure voice she is perfect as this complex little girl. Philip Quast also dominates as the desolate widower. The accomplished RSC actor has an excellet voice. Peter Polycarpou, as the envious brother has surprisingly little to do but i as the controlling and maybe misguided, rather than intentionally bad, doctor he is the nearest this show gets to a villain. Freddie Davies' personality shines through as the kindly and characterful gardener and both Linzi Hateley and Craig Purnell are well cast in supporting but important roles. Eddie Brown as Colin the night I saw The Secret Garden is believably delicate, his voice, a sweet treble.
Adrian Noble's productions are usually very visual and the staging of The Secret Garden does not disappoint. There are colourful, swirling scenes in India which are most effective, an Edwardian port and railway station and a carriage ride and of course Misselthwaite Manor, the Yorkshire House. The gardens are suggested by large glass panels of trees, misty and mysterious. Anthony Ward's sets and costumes are authentic and attractive. The choreography too is pleasing, especially when the gardeners and grooms dance a version of the South African gumboot with tools like hoes, brooms and shears and with lots of thigh slapping in an energetic, rural idyll. There's also a memorable scene in which the manservants join the chamber, scullery and housemaids for a scene set in Paris that recreates the painting by Seurat of La Grande-Jatte.
Judging from the Stratford run, I expect that The Secret Garden will do as well as The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe, the other RSC musical aimed at children but not as well as their big hit, Les Miserables. The audience, who may be introducing The Secret Garden to their children and grand children, will see some beautiful staging and very fine performances from Philip Quast and the charming children.
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size=2> THE SECRET GARDEN
Music by Lucy Simon Book and Lyrics by Marsha Norman Based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett Directed by Adrian Noble Starring: Philip Quast With: Nathalie Morgan/Eliza Caird/Tamsin Egerton, Carmen Cusack, Alistair Roberts, Christian Patterson, Duncan Smith, Peter Polycarpou, Meredith Braun, Dillys Laye, Linzi Hateley, Craig Purnell, Freddie Davies, Eddie Brown/Adam Clarke/Luke Newberry, Judith Paris, Joshua Dallas, Ray C Davis, Daniel Hinchcliffe, Daniel Page, Michael Rouse, Emma Barton, Lorraine Chappell, Emma Flett, Amanda Hall, Cheryl McAvoy, Rachel Matthews, Agnes Vandrepote Design: Anthony Ward Lighting Design: Chris Parry Sound Design: Andrew Bruce and Terry Jardine Orchestrations: William David Brohn Musical Staging and Choreography: Gillian Lynne Musical Superviser and Additional Arrangements: Chris Walker Running time: Two hours 30 minutes including an interval A Royal Shakespeare Company production Box Office: 0870 4000 650 (booking fee) Booking to June 2nd 2001 Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on March 7th 2001 performance at the Aldwych Theatre, Aldwych, London WC2 |
