REVIEW: Garden of Words showing at The Park Theatre 10 Aug – 9 Sept 2023

‘Inventive but flawed anime adaptation’ ★★★

Takao (Hiroki Berrecloth) is a fifteen year old student in Japan at an inevitable crossroads in his life; school is a drag, his home life is troubled and he can’t bear to tell anyone that what he really wants to do with his life is design shoes. Mirroring him are two equally lost women, Shoko (Shoko Ito) an older student who is terrified by the prospect of bullying from her peers and Yukari (Aki Nakagawa), a teacher at their school who has fallen into similar disfavor with her the staff.

The crux of the plot is Takao and Yukari meeting in a secluded garden as both neglect their respective school duties, unaware of who the other is but slowly getting to know each other through an exchange of poetry. In these core scenes of the narrative the backdrop of the immaculately designed stage is beautifully lit up as an old stone pagoda, evidence of the strong direction by Alexandra Rutter which has mixed results.

While the set is impressive and the moments of animation projected on to it delight, they really don’t coalesce with what the actors themselves are doing onstage. There is some puppetry as well that’s entertaining in isolation but never really brings anything to the table, and finally the effects and lighting succeed in giving a great sense of place to the varied action of the play, but time shifts prove more tricky. One only registers that a scene was a flashback or that months have passed well after the fact.

In this Rutter may have been limited by her material, as there do seem to be core issues with this adaptation from a popular anime film. The central narrative is meandering and weak, the compelling home life of Takao makes for the best drama of the story but is often neglected and Shoko’s journey feels shaky and underdeveloped. Many conflicts are resolved without much struggle, therefore lacking payoff, such as Takao’s daunting ambition of going to Italy to study high-end design which is the source of much argumentation among the adults in his life, but then after a quick montage he achieves it and everyone is happy for him. Not exactly compelling stuff.

But it’s not all for naught. Two actors on the night gave spirited performances that would easily leave anyone excited to see them again. James Bradwell nailed the dramatic highs of the night as Takao’s brother Shota while Iniki Mariano gave a brilliant and varied performance in many supporting roles, most notably putting her clear comedic talents to great use as Shota’s girlfriend. Both have impressive futures before them, but for now they do excellent work in elevating what is an inventive but flawed anime adaptation.

Garden of Words showing at The Park Theatre 10th August – 9th September 2023

Box office: https://parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-garden-of-words

Based on the Anime from Makoto Shinkai/ CoMix Wave Films

Co-adapted by Susan Momoko Hingley & Alexandra Rutter

Directed by Alexandra Rutter

Cast:

TAKAO AKIZUKI I HIROKI BERRECLOTH
SHOTA AKIZUKI I JAMES BRADWELL
REIMI AKIZUKI I SUSAN MOMOKO HINGLEY
SHŌKO AIZAWA I SHOKO ITO
RIKA TERAMOTO I INIKI MARIANO
YUKARI YUKINO I AKI NAKAGAWA
SŌICHIRŌ ITO I MARK TAKESHI OTA
 

Reviewed by Harry Conway