The Lovely Bones

Tonight was the first time I have experienced The Lovely Bones having not either read the book, seen the film or experienced any previous production of the play.  The story that unfolds is a very powerful piece of theatre which starts from the night Susie Salmon is murdered and tells the ongoing story from Susie’s viewpoint as she watches over her family from heaven being torn between seeking vengeance on her killer and allowing her family to heal.

Daisy Donoghue delivered a very strong performance as Susie Salmon from her first entrance as the vulnerable naïve middle school student lured to her death, to her final posthumous goodbye from heaven to the family and friends she loved.  Her character arc was always believable and the light and shade she brought to the role ensured the whole production, with its many twists, turns and scene changes, was always clear to the audience. 

Guy Evans was completely immersed in his portrayal of sociopathic murderer George Harvey.  He managed to make both the other characters and audience feel a deep sense of unease whenever he was on stage. His internal monologue and interactions with Susie’s father and every female character made both their and our flesh creep with an ever-increasing sense of foreboding.

Kheenan Jones was on great form as Jack Salmon, Susie’s father, ensuring that the audience were always empathetic to the despair and anger that broke over Jack in waves as the story developed.  We could all understand how and why his was becoming obsessed and could only focus on finding Susie’s killer to the exclusion of all other throughs and people including his wife, Abigail.  Emma Collins clearly brought her acting ‘A game’ in her sensitive and multi-layered portrayal of Abigail Salmon.  Emotionally lost after the death of her daughter and increasingly unable to connect with her husband the affair with the detective investigating Susie’s murderer was handled with great skill so not to be seen as casual betrayal.

Daisy Forster with an understated but powerful performance as Lindsey demonstrated the love and affection she had had for Susie throughout their younger years and also a willingness to be an active participant in bringing Harvey to justice.  Arden-Caspar Jennison again delivered a suitably subtle performance as Buckley always looking for his father’s love and hoping to keep the family together in spite of the loss they had all suffered.

Amy Parker’s portrayal of Franny was a highlight of the production holding the narrative together throughout the night.  Laura Davey was another who shone throughout the performance along with Shan Bhumbra, Payash Raslan, Mina Holtom, Jack Readyhoof, Harvey Latter and Milly Bould in their multi-roles.  They made every character unique, three-dimensional and pivotal to the storytelling including the Dog puppetry and physical animation of the previous victim’s clothes.  I particularly enjoyed Mina’s cameo as Flanagan the sink-hole owner and the heavenly Choir of Charli Twyford, Sky Marsden, Eleanor Carty and Megan Hill.

Turning to the technical aspects of the production, what struck me was the quality of the multi-level staging of the play in the Duchess Theatre which made the many scene changes of the play move smoothly without interruption.  Costuming was sympathetic to the time period and characteristics of the various characters adding both to the naturalism and hyper-reality of the overall production.  The lighting and sound design provided a great backdrop for the complex and disturbing narrative to play out.  Occasionally the soundscape did overpower the vocal projection of the actors, but this was only a minor consideration and in no way detracted from the overall production.

Natalie Webster and Adam Worton had both clearly spent considerable time and commitment to bringing this challenging play to life along with Robert McAuley as Assistant Director.  I certainly would not have known where to start and the end product is testament to the success they had with their interpretation of the play and bringing their cast and crew with them on the journey.  So, congratulations all and thank you for introducing me to this fascinating piece of Theatre.  I look forward to watching the next Encore production in 2025.

 

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