George’s Marvellous Medicine

Published Wednesday 28 December 2005 at 16:40 by Peter Tatlow

Secombe Theatre made a good Christmas choice by catching Dahl’s play George’s Marvellous Medicine on its fifth national tour by Birmingham Stage Company.

A merry hubbub pervades the auditorium until curtain-up, when all goes quiet as the children concentrate intensely on the exciting story before being invited to call out “in it goes!”.

That refers to kitchen and garage ingredients going into the huge saucepan as George concocts a new medicine, hoping to pacify his garrulous bossy granny. But the potion makes matters worse as she grows larger and crashes through the roof of their house. The antidote reduces her to a child.

Matthew Noble as George delivers his lines with absolute clarity and moves the audience adroitly as he prepares the potion. Dereck Walker plays the grisly old grandma to perfection, barking out her orders sharply with facial expressions to match. Rebecca Ramsden is Mum, James Low plays Dad and Ewan Borthwick clucks as the giant chicken.

Designer Jacqueline Trousdale has created a spectacular house with acting areas in several rooms and a roof adapted to take Granny’s head. How she levitates is a mystery, as there are no signs of wires or even a forklift truck. Perhaps it is the new medicine.