What immediately struck me when I heard about this production was the mammoth cast. The productions features over 300 cast members mostly made up of children and young adults. Now of course all these people are not on stage at once, the cast rotates around for performances with only the few adults keeping their roles throughout the run, but there's something lovely about the casting. The programme doesn't feature individual cast lists for each performance but instead a large ensemble list; everyone is equal which just creates a lovely change to some shows nowadays where its all about who's in the cast as opposed to the show itself.
So onto the show itself. The creatives say they have a 'young audience in mind' for it which is completely understandable but all ages would definitely enjoy it. There are a number of laugh out loud moments within the dialogue, especially from the hilarious Martha played by Samantha Bingley who had the whole audience smiling with every line. There were also more touching moments, with a standout being Lily's Eyes which was just beautiful. The musical director Richard Baker plays fantastically throughout, adding an almost lullaby feeling to the lilting melodies of the music.
The focus throughout is truly on Mary Lennox (played at this performance by Alana Hinge) who starts out a bratty child who likes and trusts no one but by the end is a loving girl who realises the importance of friendship and love. Alana played the role wonderfully having us laughing at points and close to tears at others. Also wonderful was Matthew Nicholas', Dickon who had charm and wit in spades.
At some points it was hard to understand why so many members were on stage but Jamie Neale's creative choreography made the movements flow so all transitions were seamless. The lighting by Dickson Cossar was brilliant, especially at the start where the 'ghosts' were bathed in a greyish blue light, a stark contrast to the warm tones which filled the rest of the stage.
Overall this was a wonderful night out. The shorter 'Spring Version' is extremely sweet and heartwarming. The simple staging means all the attention is on the actors and the fabulous storyline. This is truly a 75 minutes well spent and I urge you to take a visit to the most magical garden in the West End!
**** 4 stars
*I was provided press tickets for this show, all views and opinions are my own*
