The Ocean at the End of the Lane

December 5, 2019. The Dorfman Theatre, NT.

Good vs Evil is a theme of this Christmas on the London stage. At the Bridge there is classic Narnia, at the NT there is the adaptation of a Neil Gaiman modern myth The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

This is storytelling at its very best. There is a perfect arc as we follow our characters of Lettie and the unnamed narrator through the trials that bring them together in childhood and take them on a journey filled with extreme danger that only powerful magic can combat.

The production is at times reminiscent of A Curious Incident — such incredible fluidity of movement and also Netflix Stranger Things — pre-teen dealings with the supernatural.

Last time I saw Samuel Blenkin I thought he overplayed Malfoy in Harry Potter but here he is magnificent as the 12 year old narrator. The physicality of the part, his portrayal of a child’s anguish in an adult world they really don’t understand is superb. Marli Sui as Lettie his junior magician friend is wonderful and you believe she’s discovering her powers as the story progresses.

Old Mrs Hempstock is wonderfully played by Josie Walker and at the denouement of the play, she made me think of a female Gandalf at the height of his “Thou Shall Not Pass” power. Glorious.

What did I love — the movement and physicality, the puppetry as Lettie takes the narrator into the ocean is ethereal and magical. I also very much enjoyed the feminine power — women are the key to good and evil, the male characters are simply along for the ride, manipulated and controlled by the Hempstock women and Ursula the flea. A proper piece of girl power among the classic good vs evil. LOVE.

I also loved the staging. The Dorfman is my favourite theatre at the NT and it’s intimate yet big enough to create the ocean. The way the ocean is created is charming.

I hope the NT has another success of the magnitude of Curious Incident on its hands here. It’s superb.

4.5/5 Ethereal magic of a modern myth.