REVIEW: THE SECRET GARDEN at The Tabard Theatre 7 – 31 December 2023

‘A festive, feel-good delight for all the family’ ★★★★

It’s grim on the news and it's grim outside; two reasons you might want to take yourself to West London Tabard Theatre for a festive, family-friendly production of The Secret Garden. I didn’t stop smiling for the best part of two hours, oh – except for the bit where I cried. It's fascinating to experience this story by Frances Hodgson Burnett, now over 100 years old, adapted by Louise Haddington for the stage. I’ve read the novel, seen the film, watched the TV version and am delighted - and relieved - to report it translates beautifully to stage.

For anyone unfamiliar with this Edwardian story, it tells the tale of Mary Lennox (enthusiastically played by Daisy Rae) , a privileged only child raised in Colonial India with servants. After the tragic death of her parents, she’s sent to Misselthwaite Manor, a cold country house on the Yorkshire Moors owned by surly Uncle Craven. (Richard Loundes doubles as Ben Weatherstaff, the gardener) and run by frosty Mrs Medlock (Freya Alderson)  Poorly socialised and traumatised by her experience, full of anger, misery and loneliness, it’s through getting to know the inhabitants and their families, that Mary’s life is transformed through love, friendship and nature.

Martha (Mari Luz Cervantes) , the wide-eyed servant who attends to Mary, is a no-nonsense Yorkshire lass with an open heart. Dickon (Jordan Rising) her brother can communicate with animals, is at one with the elements and spreads pure joy and goodwill. (How many children have fallen for Dickon over the generations?) And then there’s Colin (Sam Mchale in his acting debut) Craven’s son who spends all his days, bedridden, deprived of love and sunlight, convinced he will die. It’s how these distinctive, memorable characters discover each other and interrelate that creates the real magic in the show; their blossoming mirrored by the flowers and plants.

The creative and casting decisions taken by Take Note Theatre Limited effectively coalesce to convey this story with beguiling charm. The animals: Captain the Fox, Robin and a baby lamb are all gauche, irresistible puppets steered by human hands. Projections, lighting, sound and moving props effortlessly transform the set from inside to out to recreate the allure of the secret garden. The emotions and dialects of the performances are vividly rendered, the almost comic interpretations feel tonally right for a family show. Uncle Craven sweeps in like a villain from a panto or vampire flick while Mary is petulant and droopy mouthed. Colin is hilariously camp and gives a comic dimension to Colin’s demanding, impotent character.

As a Secret Garden fangirl, I realise the idealistic sentimentality might rile some but oh, for an age of pre-internet innocence, when children understood the true meaning of boredom and didn’t need risk assessments to play in soil that might be contaminated by toxins. Nostalgia has its place especially when life out there seems so cruel and harsh. So, if pantomimes don’t appeal and magic shows are an effort, this is a worthwhile Christmas treat for the whole family.

Read our interview with the writer and director here

THE SECRET GARDEN 7th - 31st December 2023

Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett and adapted for the stage by Louise Haddington, Directed by Simon Reilly

Theatre at the Tabard, Chiswick

Box Office https://tabard.org.uk/whats-on/thesecretgarden/

Daisy Rae as Mary Lennox

Jordan Rising as Dickon Sowerby

Freya Alderson as Mrs Medlock

Mari Luz Cervantes as Martha Sowerby

Richard Lounds as Ben Weatherstaff/Archibald Craven

Sam McHale as Colin Craven

 Reviewed by NilginYusuf