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Farm Boy

Published Wednesday 7 October 2009 at 12:35 by Pat Ashworth

The art of storytelling and the vivid prose of this two-hander are so powerful that when the Grandfather and Grandson remember with exultation the flying swallows around the farmland, the watching children follow their pointing hands and swivel round to see the birds. I almost expect to see them myself.

The old Fordson tractor is the only prop in Michael Morpurgo’s tale of a farmer who endures the First World War, is miraculously reunited with his requisitioned horse, Joey, in No Man’s Land, mourns his wife’s early death and pits the strength of his ploughing horses against the might of the newfangled tractor.

John Walters gets right inside the dogged Grandfather’s skin. He is lean and taut as if from a lifetime of labour and grips the wooden chair that serves as a plough with a fierceness that wrings the heart. He shares the storytelling with the Grandson, played by Matt Powell with an openness, warmth and ingenuousness that disarms the children and endears them to his tale.

It’s accented by an original piano score, peppered with insistent sequences and bass notes for moments of high drama. There are plenty of these, not least the tension of the ploughing match that seals the future of the farm, but lots of comedy too around chicken-chasing and detective stories. The play speaks volumes about farming and sustainability, without ever needing to preach. When the Fordson that has doubled as a horse finally chugs into life, the children just can’t contain their joy.

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