The Boy Who Fell Into A Book

Leeds Children's Theatre never ceases to amaze me! Each time I have been invited to see their productions, I am never disappointed - I have been amused, joyous and maybe a bit tearful by the end of the evening but always totally in awe of the talented actors who have entertained me and their dedicated audiences.

Their latest production was no exception. Written by Alan Ayckbourn, who I must confess, I never realised wrote plays for children, used his clever, quirky style to bring us a sophisticated yet family-friendly play so cleverly conceived. 

The premise of the story is about a young boy, Kevin Carter, who is an avid reader and currently in the middle of a detective story called 'Rockfist and the Green Shark' - Kevin dreams he has joined Rockfist, a hard-nosed detective, in the search for the Green Shark, who is threatening to annihilate the planet. Other books on Kevin's shelf get in the way of the narrative with real comic effect - we have 'Chess for Beginners', 'Grimm's Fairy Tales', Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Kidnapped', 'Scary Ghost Stories' and his sister's book, 'The Wooblies Picnic', which has found itself on Kevns bookshelf!! The whole play is a riot from beginning to end and totally mesmerising.

LCT is unique in the fact that it combines adult and youth actors and this play ticked all those boxes. Lydia Bailey as Kevin, captured enthusiasm and disbelief as events unfold in his dream - an assured and mature performance - Rockfist was played by Glen Routledge - very professional in his performance with an excellent comedy approach - these two actors were rarely off the stage and worked well together. Glen's American accent didn't slip at all - he played the 'gumshoe' to perfection!

A fairly small cast played all the other characters - Rosie Walding was French 'baddie', Monique - an excellent performance. She also popped up as the White Queen in the Chess sequence and as Mummy Woobly - more about that later! James Hart played Dad, Brunt and Ebeneezer with skilful characterisation - Charlotte Routledge was the White Pawn and Baby Woobly - the characters in the Chess piece spoke in old English speak, very tricky, but I understood every word. Penny Gellard played the Bishop and Red Riding Hood with conviction. Jasper Midgley was Gareth and Rumplestiltskin, darting about the stage very well - Oscar Baker played Grandma/Wolf, (excellent!), Daddy Woobly and the Headless Monk (don't ask!!) and Ophelia Routledge played Jennet and Narrator - all first-class performances!

The Director who brought all these brilliant actors together was Tony Hutchinson - he has my admiration for his bringing together all the many scenes so seamlessly and his dedication to encouraging youth theatre. In the small Studio playing space, it never felt crowded - I admired the way all the actors coped with being so close to the audience - that is so difficult!  The use of a video wall gave us, in the audience, a real feeling of being in the many scenes that were portrayed. For this production, LCT had organised a Mentoring scheme, bringing youth and adults together behind the scenes to encourage working backstage as opposed to acting. I was so impressed to see that Ollie Grinham was the Shadow Director - he couldn't have had a better mentor than Tony! - Maisie Greenall, Stage Manager, (well-rehearsed set changes), Lighting Design by the very experienced Peter Waddicor, mentoring Milo Burrows. AV Design by the fantastic Chris Beardwell, Sound and Projections by Maisie Hinchcliffe - Costumes (excellent, especially the Chess sequence) by Jane Curtin and Sarah Midgley. Props by Freya Almond-Palmer and Jane Curtin - Set Construction by Gary Loughrey, Mark Smith and Friends of LCT (volunteers at their best!) Hair and Makeup (very good) by Manda Lister, Michelle Petrow and Georgia Vaughn. I must not forget the Producer, Janine Walker, who must have worked tirelessly to bring all this together - no mean feat! These all deserve a huge pat on the back for an excellent production of which they should be very proud. 

Now, I must comment on the Woobly characters - these rotund creatures with a one-word vocabulary really brought lots of chuckles around the audience - their scene with Kevin and Rockfist was hilarious - and the sounds of 'woobly, woobly, woobly' leaving the theatre really made me smile! 

If only Mr Ayckbourn himself had seen this production of his fabulous play, he would have been so pleased!  Very well done to all of you - and now, I will Woobly off to my dreamland!

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