Theatre / Reviews
Review: Swallows and Amazons, Bristol Old Vic
Swallows and Amazons is Arthur Ransome’s 1920s classic tale of the adventures that four siblings have when they set off for a camping trip in their sailing boat, the Swallow.
In Helen Edmundson’s adaptation at Bristol Old Vic, it celebrates the excitement of small things and the ability of childish imaginations to make the everyday fantastical by enrobing minor incidents in the trappings of the stories they’ve read, from Christopher Columbus to Robinson Crusoe.
A wealth of imagination and creativity has been poured into Tom Morris’ production, and to resounding effect.
All the things that are so popular in today’s disbelief-suspending theatre and sometimes don’t quite come off – puppets, the sketchy representation of a greater whole with just a few everyday items, adults playing children – all work perfectly here.
The maiden voyage of the Swallow, represented with some simple boat parts, a couple of blue ribbons and a lot of human ingenuity, is as nautical as the Americas Cup.
And if ever you needed proof of theatre’s ability to carry an audience’s imagination far beyond what’s in front of their eyes, it lies in the fact that you really do believe that Roger Walker (played by Tom Bennett) is a seven-year-old boy – even though he has a beard and rich baritone voice.
This theatrical magic is facilitated by fantastic acting from the ensemble, spanning everything from slapstick comedy to touching snapshots of the occasional agonies that only children suffer.
Meanwhile the music by Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy far exceeds the quality of normal family show ditties, achieving an almost Sondheimian quality at times.
Swallows and Amazons is everything that great theatre should be, celebrating the wonder of childhood imagination and the joy of play.
It’s not often you see a venue like the Old Vic simply restage the same Christmas show from only four years previously, but in this case it makes complete sense: this is going to be a hard act to better.
Swallows and Amazons is at the Bristol Old Vic until January 17. For more information and to book tickets, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/swallowsandamazons.html.
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
