Fireside Tales review

The theme of the elements is continued inside where we meet shopkeeper Cosimo – a calm, committed Rebecca Ella Clark, who manages to pull off breaking into ethereal song unexpectedly – amid shelves and tables crammed with exotic objects, featuring everything from gem stones to film projectors to a wooden ship’s wheel. A phone rings and a slightly confused child is encouraged to pick up, eventually informing us that another story is due to arrive. A candle magically lights by itself – and we learn that we are in the presence of an extremely rare fire story.

Our jittery mini-conflagration flits about the shop, jumping between Chinese lanterns and a Van Der Graaf generator (evocative lighting design from Sarah Readman), finally settling upon the shop’s yard – another enchanting space featuring a large, central brazier and yet more curious knick-knacks secreted in the overgrown foliage. This flighty flame insists on lingering in high-street lights, and we the audience are at one point encouraged to use our charcoal-drawing expertise to draw the light down while explaining our pictures to neighbours. I fancy that I drew a rather nice beach; Harris politely listened to my desperately dull backstory.

As we leave, we are exhorted to take with us “a spark of imagination”. Despite my quibbles with the airy-fairy storytelling, I will not forget the unexpected rush of wind as Ali takes down an air story from a top shelf in the shop (sound designer Dominic Kennedy); the large birdcage with clouds perching inside; or the blue sketchbook decorated with 3-D paper fish tails, as if the cover was a living sea. If only the text were as beautifully realised.

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