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The Secret Garden Reviews |
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The Secret Garden - Thursday, 12 August 2010 Indeed, you should never underestimate the maturity teenagers can bring to a stage. The quality of acting and singing on display here is outstanding, far beyond the expectations set by the cast’s years, and puts many student and adult productions here on the Fringe to shame. If they had decided – to quote Educating Rita – to "do it on the radio", I swear I would have thought everyone involved (with the obvious exception of the boy treble) were in their twenties. The plot concerns a girl, Mary Lennox, forced by her mother’s death to relocate from colonial India to her uncle's country house in Yorkshire. And in my opinion, the undisputed star is thirteen-year-old Ellie Hitchcock-Wyatt, who plays Mary. She is a revelation: composed and mature throughout, she brings across every little subtlety of her character with some excellent delivery. And the added bonus, she's got a decent singing voice! Vocally though, the stars were Callum Bicknell and Emily Stanghan, playing Mary's uncle and his wife respectively. They are in their own show Poperatically Speaking – also on the Fringe – and it’s clear why they were entrusted with the big songs in this musical. Although Emily was not given a lot to do acting-wise (her character is just an idealised vision throughout) this suited her beautifully lyrical voice perfectly. When she sings her solo in the spotlight, it's as close to angelic as you might ever get. With a host of strong supporting performances and not one weak link in the acting or singing – wayward Yorkshire accents aside – it was really disappointing that these talented teenagers were let down by what should be the basics. The orchestra was rough around the edges, especially in terms of intonation. There were some clumsy scene changes too, leaving stage hands moving the set in full light whilst a scene was still happening in the foreground, and the chorus scenes were overly busy thanks to the sheer number of people the directors had worked in. But these things cannot take too much away from what’s a real hidden gem on the Fringe. You’re going to have to hurry, though: they're only doing a week of shows. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Gordon Clayton - Posted on 11 August 2010 (Three Stars) Venue: Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge
The Secret Garden is an oasis of tranquillity from the raucous side of the fringe in terms of its music, if not in the complicated family relationships of the plot itself. The show is based on an Edwardian children’s story by Frances Hodgson Burnett and it’s a book that those who have read it will no doubt remember fondly. It’s about a girl called Mary, played excellently by Ellie Hitchcock-Wyatt. Mary is a pampered colonial girl living in India when her family die of cholera. She is then transported to Yorkshire where she is collected by her uncle’s housekeeper. The little girl is informed that her uncle will not have anything to do with her as he has been mourning the loss of his wife for an extended period. The dark side of the plot is that the uncle’s brother Dr. Neville lives in the house supposedly caring for a sick nephew, Colin, who is bed-ridden and kept out of sight. When Mary discovers her cousin by accident, the housekeeper and the not-so-good doctor dismiss her from the room while the doctor plots to send Mary off to school. The uncle has a spine deformity and has been told that he has passed on the condition to his son. To find out how things work out and where the Secret Garden comes in then you need to join the excellent young cast of Norfolk Youth Theatre. There is a lot of music in this show and while the numbers carry the story, they are difficult to sing with only a few being what you might call catchy. The director uses the limited space well with a lot of movement and groupings to make the most of the larger numbers. The acting is also of a high standard with credible interaction between the players whether in tender poignant places or where anger is required. The absence of microphones is a bit of a handicap to some of these young performers in a hall with a high ceiling. There is a need to project their voices more so that the audience catch all the words. Exceptions to this are Eloise Hare, who plays Martha the maid that befriends Mary, and Alex Green who plays the devious doctor. The pace of the piece is by nature slow, so full credit to the young cast and their production staff for holding the attention of their audience throughout. For once, this is a show for all ages.
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