“Using one of the simplest theatrical techniques, with three white pieces of cloth which hung from the ceiling, a visual experience was created that was so stunningly horrific that I was literally flung back in my chair, unable to look away.” Ashleigh Wheeler ★★★★★

“The surreal and disturbing world of the toyshop is brought to life by the vivid set design, half-concealing the torn parts of dummies and dolls, and by the live orchestra which accompanies the strange occurrences of the play with sliding atonal notes.” Eluned Gramich ★★★★★

The Magic Toyshop ★★★★★

Review by Ashleigh Wheeler

Based on one of many of Angela Carter’s sinisterly fantastical coming of age stories, this production took my high expectations and surpassed them continually in a theatrical tour de force which will leave you questioning whether you are watching a student production at all.
The play opens with an eerily spotlit trio of three people-puppets, whose bizarre but perfectly measured movements set the mark for the next hour and forty minutes: yes, it toes the line between the menacing and the ridiculous, but it does so with a poise and control which means you are never afraid that it will stray to the latter. The one exception to this was, I felt, in the portrayal of Uncle Philip (Will Spray). It is difficult, because as a whole the cast was exceptionally strong and even characters with smaller roles could not have been done without. However, Spray’s apt portrayal of a quirky, drawling and well spoken madman sometimes jarred with the script which seems to have imagined a far gruffer, ‘common’ Philip (to use Melanie’s word), and this led to his ‘silly bitch’ bringing laughs where it shouldn’t have, for instance. But for me this was one of very few essentially minor flaws in an otherwise brilliant show, which was spot on both visually and musically.
It is hard to name favourites, but a surprise standout was Phoebe Eclaire-Powell’s Victoria, whose embodiment of a toddler was so complete it was as if they had hired a child actress. The lead role of Melanie (Bella Hammad) was also played very well; she was naive but not one dimensional, haughty but not dislikeable. Much to her credit, she did not falter even in the most emotional, traumatic scenes. But as much as each cast member could, and perhaps should, be praised in turn, I must instead mention the swan scene. Using one of the simplest theatrical techniques, with three white pieces of cloth which hung from the ceiling, a visual experience was created that was so stunningly horrific that I was literally flung back in my chair, unable to look away. It is undoubtedly the high point of the show, so memorable that it will flash in your mind long afterwards.
This play is truly worthy of any professional stage, and one last piece of credit needs to go to the directors, who will surely go onto even bigger and better things.

The Magic Toyshop ★★★★★

Review by Eluned Gramich

This adaptation of Angela Carter’s first novel deals fiercely with the issues surrounding what could be mildly described as a coming-of-age drama. The plot follows fifteen-year-old Melanie (Bella Hammad), whose world is utterly transformed by the death of her father and mother in a plane crash. She is forced to move in with her Aunt (Nadine Gilmour) and Uncle, neither of whom she has ever met. She quickly learns to comply with the draconian regime of the household. Ruled over by her Uncle, and looked after by her dumb Aunt, Melanie soon falls into close alliance with Finn, one of her Aunt’s Irish brothers. At the centre of the play lie the puppet-shows that Uncle Philip (Will Spray) puts on. When Melanie is forced to participate in Philip’s staging of Leda and the Swan, it triggers a revolution in the household.

The surreal and disturbing world of the toyshop is brought to life by the vivid set design, half-concealing the torn parts of dummies and dolls, and by the live orchestra which accompanies the strange occurrences of the play with sliding atonal notes. The play’s real success, however, relies on the neat and clever choreography. The white-painted puppets, who act as a chorus to the events, move jerkily around the stage as if being controlled from above. The central scene, Leda’s rape by the swan, is terrifying and stunningly staged. It is deliberately ambiguous in that the audience never sees ‘the swan’, but at the same time no one is in doubt as to what has occurred. The look of horror on Melanie’s face, along with the loud, driving music, makes it clear. The play surpasses the label of ‘coming-of-age’ drama, and shows, as is true of Carter’s novel, just how alarming the rite of growing up is. Bella Hammad plays her part brilliantly and resists the temptation to overact, despite what Uncle Phillip’s critique of her in the play. Her siblings (played by Matt Gavan and Phoebe Eclaire-Powell) are convincingly portrayed as a distant brother and a young, excitable little girl. Victoria’s (Pheobe Eclaire-Powell) child-like movements and speech were funny and sweet, yet turned dark when it was needed. The only concern that I had was about the stale Irish stereotypes. The Irish family, who are all red-haired with exaggerated accents, like to drink Guinness, play fiddle, and dance jigs. But that was perhaps more a fault of the play itself rather than the acting. After the central scene the dramatic pace inevitably waned, and Uncle Phillip’s supposed raging revenge was surprisingly placid and unpersuasive. Yet, on the whole, the production moved fast and gripped the audience in its daring physicality. Executed to a professional standard, ‘The Magic Toyshop’ is a play worth experiencing.