Review: The Secret Garden ****
THE Secret Garden has all the ingredients of a perfect Christmas show.
There's a house with a mysterious secret, an ungrateful orphan forced to see the error of her ways, a handful of comic turns and a feelgood happy ending.
Going back to the drawing board, artistic director Ian Brown has adapted Frances Hodgson Burnett's tale as a musical and it hits so many right notes.
Refusing to shy away from the dark elements of the novel, from the boy pushed away by a father struggling to cope with the death of his wife, to the adults unable to admit that they might not know best, this is a complex production, but one which engages from start to finish.
The action plays around a simply beautiful set, which seamlessly transforms from the dark imposing house where Mary Lennox is sent to live with her uncle following the death of her parents to the stylised secret garden which blossoms in front of the audience's eyes.
Jayne Wisener is utterly convincing as Mary and the rest of the cast all deliver first-class performances, belting out the songs as if their lives depended on it. However, aside from one stand-out number, known only as the skipping song, the rest of the score is largely unmemorable.
In truth, it doesn't matter. The Secret Garden has clearly been a labour love for all those involved, and it shows. The icing on the cake would have been a finale which saw the garden turned into a winter wonderland. Sadly it's not to be and the festive audience have to be content with an autumnal glow instead.
Brown said before the curtain went up, if people went out humming the songs he would have achieved what he set out to.
By that yardstick he may be disappointed, but by every other measure, The Secret Garden is a sure fire winner.
West Yorkshire Playhouse To January 23.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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