The Stage

The Secret Garden

Published Wednesday 9 December 2009 at 13:20 by Kevin Berry

A triumph. There is no other word for it.

A scene from The Secret Garden at West Yorkshire Playhouse Photo: Keith Pattison

Ian Brown and his team have put together a superbly theatrical interpretation of the classic story with ravishingly lit sets and inspiring songs.

Jayne Wisener as young Mary Lennox, James Gillan as the supposedly crippled Colin and Thomas Aldridge as the outdoor boy Dickon are all magnificent, as is Savannah Stevenson who plays Martha the maid. The key scene in which Mary confronts and challenges Colin, the true heart of the story, is unforgettable. Not a dry eye anywhere, but sentiment is kept in check in this scene and throughout.

The story is told by an ensemble group of Yorkshire good folk, the servants at the big house. They speak while framing the action for Mary. They make walls and rooms of themselves. They form a moving line for a corridor, lifting and turning her to add to her confusion.

The secret garden itself is mostly imagined, with the imagination stimulated by the soundtrack, the words of the cast and long, hanging strips of beautifully coloured light.

There will now be enormous pressure from the Yorkshire public for this production to be repeated next year and local demand for the book will surely soar.