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A very good night indeed, Mr Tom Goodnight Mister Tom Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton ***** EVERY so often a play comes along which
ticks all the boxes. Goodnight Mr Tom is one of that exalted number. Acting, direction, staging, scenery, costumes,
props, lighting, sound and script could hardly be faulted in bringing
Michelle Magorian's 1980 novel about evacuees to life on the stage. The play can also boast all the emotions; it has
humour, drama, pathos, sadness, tragedy and the triumph of the human
spirit, all fitted expertly together into two acts. The book is set around the outbreak of the Second
World War when hundreds of thousands of city children where shipped into
the country for safety which must have brought back happy – and not so
happy – memories for a groups of former evacuees who were at the show as
guests of the Grand. The evacuees had no say in where they were sent
or who they stayed with; they were just dumped at a station collected by
a billeting officer and taken to people who were expected to take them
in. On such new arrival was William Beech, played by
Oliver Tritton Wheeler, who found himself billeted with the cantankerous
old widower Tom Oakley, the village's grumpy old man played by
Oliver Ford Davies.
The book first made its mark on the public as a
TV film starring the late John Thaw and there is some irony in the fact
that Oliver Ford Davis was Thaw's boss when they appeared together in
Kavanagh QC. William we find is an abused child who has
suffered neglect, a strange kind of religious upbringing and seems to
have had very little in the way of education. Tom, has shut the world and everyone in it out of
his life as he copes with his own inner tragedy. An unlikely couple yet we see a bond grow between
them as war unfolds around them. A raised stage serves as Tom's home, the Church
hall, Post Office indeed the who of Little Weirwold
in Dorset as well as a London hospital and various outpost of British
Rail. Lifting the stage like a
mediaeval drawbridge, with similar sound to boot, reveals the dark
deprived life of William in London at the height of the blitz in the
play's darkest moment. It is a transformation which
shows remarkable imagination by set designer Robert Innes Hopkins and
director Anjus Hackson.
Another clever touch was the
use of a puppet for Tom's black and white collie Sam. Puppeteer Laura
Cubitt needs to be congratulated on making the dog appear so lifelike. Other puppets appeared as
birds and squirrels. Foil and friend for William
was Zack, played by Max Longmuir, a Jewish evacuee who was larger than
life to downtrodden William who was dragged along with all his
enthusiasm. Zach taught William friendship, fun and finally strength. David Wood's script avoids
wallowing in a lake of sentiment and just tells the book's simple
story which is strong enough to stand on its own two feet. Scattered throughout the play
are some wonderful little touches and period pieces including a real
dreadnaught of a pram pushed by teacher Mrs Hartridge. Plays like this do not come
around every day so when one appears – catch it. Roger
Clarke
Goodnight again Mr Tom . . . ***** THIS is a truly wonderful play that gives
the audience an emotional experience of what life as an evacuee might
have been like for children during the Second World War. Performed by an outstanding cast, including
youngsters from The Children's Touring Partnership, Michelle Magorian's
story which has been adapted for stage by David Wood, is graphic and
gripping from start to finish. On opening night many people were fighting back
tears, and it proved a particularly nostalgic occasion for a group of
adults from Birmingham and the Black Country who had been evacuees and
were present as guests of the theatre management. Set at the start of and during the war, the play
follows young William Beech's evacuation from London, where he lived
with an unstable mother, to the comparative safety of Dorset and the
care of elderly recluse Tom Oakley who has not recovered from the loss
of his beloved wife in childbirth many years ago. Oliver Ford Davies, of Kavanagh QC and Foyle's
War fame, is superb as grumpy Tom, at first grudgingly accepting his
duty of care for the boy, but gradually warming to the youngster and
then rescuing the lad after he is suddenly recalled by his cruel mother. William is impressively played by 12-year-old
Oliver Tritton Wheeler whose transformation from a nervous, introverted
lad under Tom's guidance is moving. A clever, amusing performance, too,
from Max Longmuir as Zach who befriends and encourages his new pal. Then there is Sammy, Tom's delightful border
collie! A remarkable puppet, beautifully manipulated by a female member
of the cast, he is a star. Whether barking, sniffing, licking his paws,
or demonstraing his love for Tom and William, he is a canine corker. Directed by Angus Jackson, Goodnight Mister Tom
runs to 12.02.11. A triumph, not to be missed. Paul Marston
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