REVIEW: A Monster Calls at The Bear Pit Theatre is another winner from Stratford Youth Theatre

REVIEW: A Monster Calls, The Bear Pit Theatre, Stratford, 22nd February

STRATFORDYouth Theatre (SYT) are known for their fondness for tales from the dark side.

They have previously put on gothicky thrillers The Spiderwick Chronicles and The Clopton Ghosts to much acclaim.

Fitting into that repertoire perfectly was their latest offering, A Monster Calls, which ran at the Bear Pit from 19th to 22nd February.

Taking a seat in the Bear Pit auditorium waiting for showtime, the mood is already fabulously atmospheric conjured by an expansive backdrop depicting a foreboding landscape dominated by spooksome yew tree – created by scene artist O’Neal Spence.

The captivating visuals are joined by a haunting score – full of creaks and sighs – cleverly put together by Jude Bixley-Plowright. Nerves are set jangling even before the action begins.

A Monster Calls is based on the bestselling novel by Patrick Ness. It tells the story of a 13-year-old boy named Conor who is visited by a monster at his window. The monster tells Conor stories from its past, and Conor must tell his own story. The play explores themes of love, loss and healing as the teenager deals with his mother’s terminal cancer diagnosis.

Heartbreakingly, the concept and characters for A Monster Calls were created by the late children’s author Siobhan Dowd while she was dying from cancer – too poorly to write herself, she asked Ness to complete the story.

“I felt – and feel as if I’d been handed a baton,” Ness has said of his novel. “Along the way, I only had a single guideline: to write a book I think Siobhan would have liked.”

Addressing imagined youthful audiences, he continued: “And now it’s time to hand the baton on to you. Stories don’t end with the writers, however many started the race. Here’s what Siobhan and I came up with. So go. Run with it. Make trouble.”

In the hands of SYT’s husband and wife co-directors, writer Sarah Plowright and director Aaron Bixley, there is indeed excellent trouble and running with the baton to be had.

There’s very much the feeling of an ensemble at work together collaboratively, with the 17 young actors involved showing amazing confidence and ownership of their roles.

Jamie O’Neil handles the lead role of Colin with aplomb – angsty and put-upon, sometimes stoic other times riled and angry as he deals with school bullies (the menacing Harry is performed convincingly by Kade McDougall), a distant father, bossy gran and his dying mum. The latter is given wonderful heart, soul and warmth by Saoirse Carton.

The rest of the cast also absolutely excel in their various and sometimes multiple roles – bringing commitment and enthusiasm. Not once is there a dropped line or even a shred of hesitancy – consummate professionals one and all.

Naturally the manifestation of the monster is the key to the success of the show. Very cleverly it is played by four actors, each a fourth element of the one yew tree, and each with a separate tale to tell. They are dressed in dark cloaks and tendrils and look freshly hewn from the earth. Clever choreography and lighting sometimes makes them appear as one or at other times separate entities.

The actors are diverse not just in size but in the character they imbue their version of the monster with. Anoushka Lad is brilliantly Puck-like; Faith Corry – who was a standout in The Railway Children at Christmas – shines as a Celtic princess-warrior type figure; while the two lads making up the monster quartet, Alexander Fox and Oscar Woodings, deliver macho menace with real depth and believability.

What a monstrously good show, well done one and all.