Our theatre reviewer, Sam Sims, shares his thoughts on The Borrowers at Hull Truck Theatre.
The Borrowers is one of those stories that at this point, seems like it will just live on forever. Originally a children’s fantasy novel written by Mary Norton and published in 1952, forty years later it would become a BBC TV series starring a who’s who of Brit talent, before getting the big screen treatment in 1997, with subsequent adaptations (including the brilliant Japanese anime – Arrietty) continuing right up until the present day.
One such adaptation is this year’s Hull Truck Christmas production, a very sweet, very twee and often very funny visual feast for the whole family, including the eccentric posh ones you feel awkward around. Perhaps you think this story, about a family who look and sound like you and I, but happen to be smaller than a field mouse, is an unconventional choice for a Christmas show. It isn’t, after all, A Christmas Carol, but fear not, The Borrowers will make you feel so festive, you’ll race home afterwards, eat all of the mince pies and watch Die Hard over and over again. Oops, just me then?
The story centres on a family of three – mum, Homily (played by Deb Pugh) dad, Pod (Marc Akinfolarin) and their inquisitive teenage daughter Arrietty (Bea Glancy). They live under the floorboards of a big ol’ house, relying on Pod’s scavenging (‘borrowing’) for survival and up until the arrival of evacuee, George, live relatively carefree lives. But chaos ensues after the boy becomes aware of their presence and especially once Arrietty gets a taste for the outside world…
As per many of Hull Truck’s shows, The Borrowers is set in Hull, with the events taking place during World War 2. We have to wait barely any time before the jokes start coming, much to my and my fellow audience members’ delight. Exchanges like “I don’t like Hull”, “Ever been?” “No,” “Didn’t think so,” elicits many guffaws and knowing smiles. Bloody Bishop Burton snobs! The ‘hull-ness’ isn’t shoved down your throat though – you’re told, you hear the accents and that’s that. It’s enough in my opinion.
There’s some nice lighting work here from Jessie Addinall, especially in some early scenes where Arrietty looks wistfully out at the sunlight that taunts her. It is a world that feels so far removed from her own. The set design by Patrick Connellan is generally good and pretty quickly convinces you that our heroes are teeny tiny. The props are a huge factor here, as are the kinda scary but genius puppets (by John Barber, Liz Dees and Ian Mitchell) that are used when the Borrowers interact with the more human sized folk. There’s an abundance of treats when it comes to the props – huge knitting needles, big gold cutlery, a massive chunk of a digestive biscuit and a boot that is used as a makeshift home. Some really, really great work here. A favourite part of this show for me, is Siân Thomas’s brilliant costumes, with a particular standout being Pod’s wool vest with giant buttons. Where can I get one?
All of the cast are great and do exactly what is expected of them. Glancy’s voice is gorgeous and singing in a Hull accent, something I’ve never heard before, is a really nice touch. It’s very difficult to choose any standouts but Megan Leigh Mason as, most prominently Mrs Driver is where most of the laughs are. She’s a tyrannical, sherry swigging bigot who may or may not get what she deserves and whether she gets her comeuppance or not, it sure makes for a very entertaining scene near the end of the show. Rachel Garnett is also very good in a variety of roles, including the smelly Spiller, fully inhabiting all of them.
This is a lovely, feel-good Christmas show brought to life by a very talented group of people, including director, Mark Babych and writer, Charles Way. It’s not full-on festive fare, a production overindulged on tinsel and snowflakes and that’s what gives it an edge. But we are given some of that too, especially in The Borrowers’ final moments. What I really appreciate is how much stress is put on the importance of family and how that is pretty much the only relationship we need to care about. There could have been a real push to make it more romantic, particularly between two of the younger characters but thankfully that didn’t really happen. Because what is Christmas but making more effort with family (whatever that means to you) and enjoying the time you have left together. As well as all the mince pies and Die Hard of course.
[Sam Sims – Theatre reviewer]
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