Review: KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, Southwark Playhouse

My expectations were as high as Kiki, aboard her broom, soaring through the sky delivering goods like a magical Japanese flying Deliveroo worker. Having seen Hayao Miyazaki's adaptation of Eiko Kadono's 1985 novel at least half a dozen times (if you have kids, the Studio Ghibli DVD box set is the best Christmas present for them - and you) I wondered how they could capture the charm of the story and its flying motif. But, having seen this theatre's wonderful Howl's Moving Castle, I was confident that it could be done - and it was.

At 13, Kiki must leave home and find a town in need of her services. Her parents are unhappy at losing their daughter, but reconciled to the fate of a witch, something Kiki's witch mother embraced years ago. It's a wonderful show of confidence in the power of youth to make their own way in the world and the resilience of parents in letting them do so. The contrast in attitude with this autumn's hit, Things I Know To Be True, with its message about the dangers of life away from the suburban home and the damage done to parents by their children's need to be free could not be more marked. Viva Kiki!

From her broom on high, Kiki spies a city by the sea and, after a few tricky moments, fetches up with kind-hearted Osono, living above her cake shop and delivering goods all over town. She catches the eye of a boy - of course - and learns a hard lesson about the value of humility, before proving herself worthy of the office she has assumed by saving the city's New Year's Eve celebrations. No great traumas for sure, the joy is in seeing a supernatural girl confront and defeat all too natural a set of problems.

The cast take on multiple roles with splendidly clear costume changes to signify new characters, so even the youngest member of the audience will not be confused. Alice Hewkin, as delicate in features as a porcelain doll, stays as Kiki, and gives a beautifully nuanced performance, recognisably a teen, but one with a growing understanding of adult responsibilities. Her flying is more figurative than literal, but Hewkin is such a will-o'-the-wisp, it's no great leap of faith to imagine her aloft.

There's lovely use of projections throughout the 75-minute running time, but the show is stolen by a wonderfully conceived and executed piece of puppetry, something I've seen less and less of in theatres over the last couple of years. Matthew Forbes manipulates what is little more than a head on a stick to vest Kiki's cat, Jiji, with a wide range of emotions. He speaks, inevitably, in a haughty voice that matches his feline hauteur, but, with eyes literally shining bright, the familiar is as compelling a presence in the play as he is in Kiki's life. The denouement to their relationship is terribly moving.

Enchanting is a reviewer's word, a cliched descriptor that I feel is usually little more than a proxy for sentimental - but not this time. Director Kate Hewitt has fashioned a truly enchanting piece of theatre from strong source material that will, yes, enchant those new to the story and those who have known Kiki for years. From ages 5 to 95, there's something, indeed plenty, for everyone because this Kiki really does deliver!

Kiki's Delivery Service is at Southwark Playhouse until 8 January.

To post a comment, you must register and login.