Review: THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE at Pumphouse THEATRE, TAKAPUNA

THE MAGIC FAR AWAY TREE  - based on books by ENID BLYTON

Adapted into a play by Tim Bray, QSM

There is magic happening ….  and we are mesmerised.                                                  

Prepare to be transported and entirely captivated when you watch Tim Bray’s most recent production, The Magic Far Away Tree. Known as  Auckland’s leading theatre for children and for creative interpretation, this is truly imaginative theatre at its finest. The audience is immediately captured by the opening moments.  Father (Raj Varma), Mother (Jacque Drew), Jo (Nikeidrian Peters), Bessie (Isabella Temm), and Annie (Jacinta Compton) are off to the country and we see them walking to the station and then ingeniously becoming the train itself. This is just the first of many imaginatively executed moments. From now on, we are on the adventure with the family – and what a journey it is.

The original soundtrack is a delight – – by Marshall Smith, Marshmellow, it embroiders and develops every nuance of the storyline and captures the mysterious wood, its joy and its secrets. Add charm-filled lighting (Steve Marshall) which colours and transports and we are truly there in the lands of the Far Away Tree. Combine these already incredible elements with imaginative staging and set design (Rachael Walker) and well-directed (Tim Bray) physicalised performance – and this is a show of an international standard. There is magic happening and we want to see it!

I particularly appreciated the contribution of the NZ sign language interpreter at the side of the stage (Platform Interpreting NZ Ltd.) ensuring that everyone could follow the narrative. This is inclusion at its best.

Working seamlessly to convey the narrative and capture the fun, the mystery and the imaginings of the story is the very talented and expressive cast:  Father/Saucepan Man (Raj Varma), Mother /Silky (Jacque Drew), Jo (Nikeidrian Peters), Bessie (Isabella Temm), and Annie (Jacinta Compton). Outstanding performance from Jaeden Lawrie as eccentric Moonface.  Talented supporting cast members are effectively employed as various other characters such as gnomes, doors, animals, and the people of the Land of Presents:  Manunui Rainey, Shannon Freeman, Luke Orbell, Jacob Bainbridge, Gisele Proud, Aimee Maria Aranha.

Every look, every pose, every action, every line from every character – we are mesmerised! We are transported to those lands of Presents, Roundabout land where we go up and down on poles, the Land of Do As You Please, the Land of Birthdays, and Rockingland where we all perilously swing back and forth. Children appreciated the creative ladders which took you from one land to the next.  The physical nature of the performance merges superbly with lighting, sound, set, makeup, and costuming to form entirely integrated layers of enchantment.

The audience – young and old – is completely captivated throughout. With magical lighting, a creative soundtrack, and imaginatively enacted, it’s a MUST-SEE for children aged 3 – 12 years in the holidays. The production runs from 25 June til 15 July in Auckland, at The Pumphouse, Takapuna. Take the children along! What the audience can expect is a supremely delivered professional production – energetic, moving, mesmerising and skilfully told.

Tickets are very reasonably priced - available through https://timbray.org.nz

 

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