The Secret Garden – Ambassadors Theatre

Picture: Roy Tan

The Secret Garden continues at the Ambassadors Theatre, London until 31 August.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

If you want charm and highly moral, traditional clean entertainment you can’t go far wrong with The Secret Garden.

Marsha Norman’s version (based on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel), pared down here to 75 mins for young performers and audiences, is linear and nippy. There are tuneful songs by Lucy Simon to drive the action forward and some ghosts that don’t appear in the original novel to make it clear that we’re in a house consumed by grief in a way that works on stage.

The British Theatre Academy works with large numbers of young people under 23 who alternate the lead roles and ensemble parts in this show. Press night gave us Alana Hinge who is outstanding as the central character Mary Lennox, orphaned and dropped into her uncle’s Yorkshire household.

She captures all Mary’s petulant anger in the early scenes and then gradually softens with smiles as she meets bedridden Colin (Sam Procter – another fine young actor) and Dickon (Matthew Nicholas – warm and charismatic) and together they discover her dead aunt’s lost garden with its restorative powers.

There is a magnificent performance from George Mulryan as Mary’s troubled Uncle Archie. He has a striking bass singing voice and brings terrific sensitivity to the role, especially in an eloquent duet with his doctor brother, played with aplomb by Stuart Nunn.

There’s delightful work too from Samantha Bingley as the smiling buxom down-to-earth Yorkshire maid who has a delicious, quite old-fashioned contralto voice.

The slick, very professional, ensemble, which comprises quite young children alongside older ones and teenagers, is a credit to both the choreographer, Jamie Neale. and to MD Richard Baker who accompanies on piano and conducts from the pit.

Lizzy Leech’s simple set – furniture covered with cloths which are removed and replaced to mark scene changes – is pretty workaday until the flown floral screen in bright colours indicates the blossoming of the garden and Colin’s recovery, all of which is rather moving.

Inevitably the audience was full of very enthusiastic family members supporting the cast, but actually Rupert Hands’ production is a strong and enjoyable show on any terms.

Well done The British Theatre Academy for finding and developing so much talent.

Susan Elkin

* Press night cast includes: Alana Hinge, George Mulryan, Samantha Bingley, Matthew Nicholas, Sam Procter, Thomas Cove and Scarlet Smith.

Tickets for The Secret Garden are available HERE.

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