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Review by Sarah Vanstone
A fantastic
journey through a whole shelf of books was presented by the English
Touring Theatre and Warwick Arts centre at the Playhouse.
A vast
open book formed the floor of the stage, with adaptable scaffolding
as the backdrop.
Nine-year-old
Kevin played by Matt Green is in bed reading Rockfist Slim and the
case of the Green Shakr, and dad won’t stop nagging him to turn
out the light.
As
he reads the story aloud it visually comes to life on stage, until
he falls into the action and meets the hard-boiled detective Rockfist
Slim, played by Eric Loren.
Together
they journey through Kevin’s entire shelf of six books meeting chess
players, Red Riding Hood, The Wooblie family, ghosts, and Monique
the scary assassin.
Each
book that Kevin stumbles into helps to maintain the audience’s involvement.
Each new location is totally different from the last and gives a
kaleidoscope view of children’s stories from The Brothers Grimm
to modern day Harry Potter.
A great
message comes across in this play - the value of reading, and the
power of the imagination to transport the reader to other worlds.
As
Kevin says "With a book, it becomes real. The book becomes part
of you".
The
Boy who Fell into a Book doesn't’t underestimate the children it
is aimed at, but gives them credit for wit and intelligence.
This
makes it an interesting performance for everyone. It focuses on
language and story, is a great way to be reminded of childhood adventures,
or of the enthusiastic journeys you went on with your favourite
books.
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