Tom's Midnight Garden at Library Theatre until 12th January

Our review of the Library Theatre's Christmas production.

Following in their tradition of eschewing pantomime in favour of high-quality children’s theatre, this year sees the revival of David Wood’s adaptation of Tom’s Midnight Garden at the Library Theatre.

The play tells the story of Tom, who is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle in their flat in London after his brother Peter catches measles. With no children to play with and no garden to play in, Tom becomes increasingly bored and frustrated – until one night, the grandfather clock in the hallway strikes thirteen. Tom leaves his bed to investigate and stumbles upon a magical garden where children play. But none of the children can see him, apart from a lonely orphan girl called Hatty...

Five years after the original production at the Library Theatre, this show boasts a new cast but retains the direction of Roger Haines and movement specialist Liam Steel who have created a fantastic piece of theatre aimed at children over the age of eight.

Arthur Wilson as Tom and Claire Redcliffe as Hatty are both excellent in the roles of children, offering the young audience plenty of giggles as they play games and Tom exploits his invisibility to pull faces and blow raspberries at the grown ups. Wilson and Redcliffe are supported by a large and accomplished cast. Each of the other actors plays two roles and the distinction between their characters is so strong that you would be forgiven for not realising you had seen them before.

However, Liam Steel’s slick, tightly controlled choreography still steals the show for the adult audience. Between their scenes, all the actors (apart from Wilson) join the ranks of sinister creatures wearing trench coats and trilbies with a walking stick in each hand. By turns they become part of the set, part of the garden or simply a chorus of nightmare creatures urging Tom to break the rules or keeping an unsettling watch over the stage.

The darkness these characters bring to the production is enhanced by Jamie Vartan’s bleak set, which only shows the garden through the shadows it casts.

So much darkness may seem a little strange in a Christmas show, but herein lies the production’s strength. With so much schmaltz available over the festive season, it is a positive relief to see a production aimed at children that doesn’t patronise or preach at them. Tom’s Midnight Garden is a piece of excellent, imaginative and powerful theatre that will keep both children and their parents spellbound.

For tickets, visit the Library Theatre Website

Words: Claire Symonds