The Lost Spells – Watford Palace Theatre & Touring

Picture: Greta Zabulyte

The Lost Spells was reviewed at Watford Palace Theatre (playing until 8 April 2023). The production then transfers to the Polka Theatre, Wimbledon from 13 April-7 May and Theatre by the Lake, Keswick from 24 May-4 June 2023.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Endearingly advertised for audiences aged six to 106, The Lost Spells is an delightful family musical adapted from the bestselling book by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, which tells a story centred around the importance of nature and our relationship with the environment.

A 12-year-old girl, who seemingly has forgotten her own name due to nerves on her first day at a new school, goes on a journey of discovery through the natural world after finding a book of spells. Learning that the spells – as well as names and the very existence of elements of nature – can disappear from the book as they fade from our general awareness, she realises the importance of keeping the flora and fauna people may often take for granted a conscious part of everyday life. Her friendships with the creatures she meets along the way all teach her different lessons about the world and how to appreciate and care for it before certain species are relegated to the past forever.

After initially not recognising her surroundings as she first enters the ‘enchanted’ world, she does by the end of the story realise the trees, fields and paths are part of her own neighbourhood and that looking at them in a different way has given her a new appreciation for her surroundings. The full circle moment of the audience learning that her name is Jay – after a creature known for hiding acorns and therefore indirectly growing forests and creating habitats – shrewdly brings together the parallels between human life and the wild world.

The story is portrayed in an imaginative and inventive way, particularly through the use of live music as the actors rotate between playing instruments on stage to accompany songs written for the production by Mary Erskine and Will Dollard. All members of the company have their chance to shine in character solos, including Fox (Alex Wingfield), Hare (Toby De Salis), Jackdaw (Paula James) and a particularly impressive percussive drum section from Woodpecker (Lucy Yates). The whole construct is brilliantly led by Miriam Nyarko as the young protagonist Jay, who has an excellent singing voice and a beautifully innocent presence in interacting with her new woodland friends.

There are charming comedy elements to appeal to littler members of the audience alongside the distinctive and creature-appropriate costuming, but the message of the piece is universally significant and surely strikes a chord with both young and old.

Sorcha Exworthy