Must-see National Theatre production of adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane at New Theatre Oxford, from June 20 – 24. Review by Jon Lewis

Katy Rudd’s must-see National Theatre production of Joel Horwood’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane, on a UK tour prior to the West End, is a thrilling journey into the imagination. First staged in the smaller scale Dorfman Theatre in 2019, it’s visually arresting (lighting, the peerless Paule Constable, set designer, Fly Davis), sonically stunning (composer Jharek Bischoff) and supremely well-acted. With choreography from Steven Hoggett (Frantic Assembly) where every scene change is meaningful and adds to the story, the production also has a powerful, emotional heft concerning the loss of loved ones.

The central, unnamed character is, when we first see him, a middle-aged divorced man (Trevor Fox) on his way to his father’s funeral. He is drawn to a farmhouse near his old family home inhabited by a trio of old-fashioned females whose matriarch, Old Mrs Hemstock (Finty Williams), can remember the birth of the moon. In a twist to the Flying Dutchman, the Hemstocks are compelled to narrate the man’s history to him, about when he first, fatefully, encountered them when he was twelve, a year after his mother died.

The knowledge he has, about giant body-changing flea-like creatures from another dimension, as well as the Hemstock’s role as earth-based guardians, means he has his memory tragically wiped every time he returns to the farm. Without seeing the joins, a bit like the magical snipping the Hemstocks use to change time and actions, we have returned to 1983 and the man is twelve again (Keir Ogilvy). Nicknamed ‘bookmark’, he’s entranced by fantasy novels. His father makes ends meet by renting out the boy’s bedroom. The old lodger having committed suicide, there’s a new houseguest, the mysterious Ursula (understudy, Jasmeen James) who literally entrances the boy’s sister (Laurie Ogden).

As the boy is inducted into a reality stranger than Stranger Things by the youngest of the Hemstocks, Lettie (Millie Hikasa) so the audience is showered with unforgettably magical scenes of horror and adventure. Awestruck teenagers sitting a row behind constantly shouted ‘this is sick’ as each surprise was created onstage.

Grab a ticket if you can.