The Egg theatre in Bath celebrates its 20th anniversary with Tom Wentworth's thoughtful but fitful adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved children's book, The Secret Garden. The production, directed by Stephanie Kempson, features beautiful puppets by Cat Rock, including a plucky robin, a majestic owl, and a lovable fluffy lamb, all frayed at the edges with exposed fabric—a celebration of craft and creation as much as the natural world.
Design and Puppetry Shine
The puppets are complemented by Kat Heath's striking design and evocative music from composer Ben Osborn. The Yorkshire Moors around Misselthwaite Manor are brought to life using curtains of fabric and giant gloves with long spindly fingers, worn by actors and swaying wildly in the wind. This unusual work sometimes makes the young audience giggle but gradually captures the imagination.
Storytelling Shortcomings
Where the show falters is in the storytelling, which never establishes a natural rhythm or focus. Wentworth, who has written for TV, uses relentlessly short and choppy scenes. Director Kempson highlights the endless scene changes, with actors chatting as they move about the set, making things more disjointed. Important beats of young Mary's story, as well as her cousin Colin's, are lost amid the bustle.
Character Portrayals
Bilqees Khalid is a sparky and charismatic Mary, but the script has softened her character too much. Jack Hunter's bedbound cousin Colin is luminously innocent but lacks the darker edges—anger and frightening vulnerability—that make him so memorable in Burnett's book. Smaller characters are more intriguing: Daneka Etchells' Martha is kind but never cloying, and Martin Bonger's characters have bite and depth. His doctor is proud and cruel; his uncle lost and heartbroken; his Ben Weatherstaff fierce but kind. It is in Bonger's scenes—particularly the darkly brooding encounters between the Doctor and a sickly Colin—that the production elevates from a lovely aesthetic experience to a boldly captivating story.
