Review: Moby Dick, York Guildhall

Herman Melville's maritime novel Moby Dick is one of those classics where most people know the story '“ a sea captain pursues the great white whale that robbed him of a leg '“ but have never read the book

This stage version written for Hull Truck back in 2002 has been revised and expanded for the latest production from York-based Theatre Mill which specialises in presenting plays in unconventional non-theatre places. Moby Dick surfaces in York’s Guildhall, transformed into a theatre-in-the-round for an immersive production featuring physical theatre, songs and actor-musicians.

Writers John Godber and Nick Lane and director Gareth Tudor Price have done a fine job in combining characters from Melville’s story with people from Hull’s old trawler industry. The approach works extremely well in this setting, making the journey surprisingly moving and highly-charged emotionally as well as exciting as man and beast face each other for the final countdown.

Until November 3.