Jasmine Sakyiama, Felix Warren, Rafi Essex, Cerys Hill and Tumo Reetsang in The Midnight Gang at Chichester Festival Theatre. Picture: Manuel Harlan
The Midnight Gang continues at the Chichester Festival Theatre until 3 November 2018.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
David Walliams has established himself as a most successful writer of children’s books that are witty, full of fun but also featuring serious themes.
The Midnight Gang, adapted by Bryony Lavery, embraces all of the above and amid the laughter it examines the necessity for kindness and supportiveness. It also stresses the importance of imagination and realising one’s dreams.
As the play takes place in the children’s ward of a hospital, it is a nice touch of scene-setting to have the ushers and front of house staff greeting the audience in white hospital coats. Simon Higlett’s set is a splendid re-creation of the ward and its surrounding.
Having received a head injury during a cricket match, Tom is taken to a children’s ward where he meets four other young patients – George, Amber, Robin and Sally – along with a scary looking Porter and the ward’s Matron – a child hater in the mould of Annie’s Miss Hannigan.
He soon learns that his fellow patients have a secret gang that takes off on adventures at the stroke of midnight. Eventually, they let him join and he discovers that, with the help of the Porter, they bring to life and act out their dreams.
The show, a classic story of good triumphing over evil, is great fun with farce blending with moments of pathos.
Original lyrics and music come from the pen of Joe Stilgoe and are a mixture of pleasant story-enhancing songs, philosophical ones and a belter, ‘Breakfast Time’. This joyful soul number is delivered full on by Lucy Vandi – a tea trolley Tina Turner.
‘So Many Questions’ is a Gilbert and Sullivan-style patter song whilst ‘Children Will Never Be Welcome Here’ is an over the top Gothic song that establishes Matron’s cruel nature. This she manifests by making Tom wear a girl’s nightie. ‘Pink Frilly Nightdress’ is his stoic, defiant response. Tom and the Porter soft shoe shuffle their way through ‘Two Lost Souls’, a jaunty little number.
Director Dale Rooks has a fine cast to work with both young and adult. Cody Molko (Tom) makes a fine hero, showing courage and concern for others. Rafi Essex provides quite a few laughs as George.
Jasmine Sakyiama, playing Amber who is confined to a wheelchair, provides her share of the comedy by always trying to claim the credit for successful actions.
Felix Warren, as Robin, with head and eyes swathed in bandages, also manages to turn this to comic effect.
Completing the young patients is Cerys Hill as the terminally ill Sally. Hers is a beautifully understated performance. She gets to lead on ‘Big Beautiful Life’ – her dream is to live a full life knowing that there is so little time left. The others help to realise the dream through a series of quick-fire comedy moves.
Among the adult cast there is a fine, gentle performance from Dickon Gough as the misshapen porter and a truly villainous one from Jennie Dale as the Matron. She almost steals the show when she links up with a fellow sadist, played by Tim Mahendran, to perform a hilarious Pasodoble to ‘The Punishment Will Be Severe’.
Other good performances come from Matthew Cavendish and Marilyn Cutts who plays a 90-year-old woman who, through the children’s adventures, gets to fly across London naked.
Barrie Jerram
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