|
|
|
|
The Long Way Home
Summary
Review of Eastern Angles production of The Long Way Home
Sudbury Upper School
23rd April 2010
The Quay Theatre, Sudbury
This tale is in the tradition of European folk tales brought into the modern age through storytelling, music and magic. It is a heart-warming story about friendship through adversity. An old woman decides to walk home to the village of her birth where she meets a young man in the dark woods through which she journeys who communicates by barking like a dog. The two become unlikely travelling companions.
|
|
|
Puppetry within plays can sometimes evoke ideas of 'Punch and Judy’, becoming boring to an audience that perhaps expected something slightly more mature, but puppetry was used to astounding effect, adding to the impact of the play rather than detracting from it, in The Long Way Home.
Of course, interesting puppets do not a motivating play make, and The Long Way Home added much more to their entourage of successes; the set was fantastic, brilliantly designed by Mika Handley, and music was also included; entertaining and whimsical.
Written by Charles Way, The Long Way Home follows his usual theme of fairytale writing, largely aimed at children. The story is that of an old widowed woman, ‘not exactly a spring chicken’, who decides to walk home to the seaside village of her birth, a journey through dark woods, fertile plains and snow-capped mountains. Along this journey, she encounters the child who is to become her companion, Dog-boy, soon to become Andreas. Although at first she is reluctant to let him travel with her, she soon warms to him, teaching him the ways of the world which he previously didn’t understand.
It very much makes you think of a traditional tale that you imagine a grandparent telling a child, not only with the writing but also the way in which it was acted, portrayed skilfully by a cast of only four. Jumann Short and James Bolt particularly stood out as narrators, able not only to relate the story to the audience in a way that kept them listening and interested, but also to ebb from one character to another quite seamlessly.
The thing that makes the play so accessible is its simplicity. It is written to be suitable to a wide audience, easily relatable for the whole family, and despite its one use of coarse sign language, shall we say, it teaches a valuable lesson about loyalty and persistence. Though to begin with it was difficult to understand the message the play was attempting to convey, with The Long Way Home, what you see really is what you get – an enjoyable fable for adults as well as children.
Hannah Bunting
Sudbury Upper School
23rd April 2010
|
|
If you need information in large print, audio cassette, braille, translation (written or verbal) or signed interpretation, let us know when you contact us. About our translation services.
Last updated on: 27 April 2010 | Date of next review: 27 April 2011
|
|
|