Stuart McQuarrie as Mr Snow (credit Marc
Brenner)
FOUR STARS
THE annual Christmas
show at the National Theatre is always hotly anticipated and this
year's gem is a production of Erich Kästner’s 1920s book Emil and
the Detectives.
It stars a gaggle of
about 50 kids who dominate the stage whenever they are on it. Indeed
they seem to relegate the adult actors to mere supporting cast
members for much of the time.
In short they are a joy
to watch.
The story of a young
boy's adventure in the big city is a good one too and will appeal to
most kids. Young Emil is despatched from his small home town of
Neustadt to Berlin by his mother. He takes with him 140 marks which
he is instructed to give to his Grandmother when she meets him at the
station.
However, on the train
to Berlin he meets the shady and franky creepy bowler-hatted Mr Snow,
brilliantly played by Stuart McQuarrie.
Mr Snow deftly steals
the money and leaves poor Emil alone and frightened - not least about
what his mother will say about the matter.
But Emil is made of
stern stuff and not one to be downcast for long, he enlists the help
of Berlin's children to find Mr Snow and get his money back.
There then follows a
brilliantly choreographed race through the streets of Berlin to find
the thief and a chance for the youngsters to show the audience what
they are made of.
The parts played by the
children are rotated between three different sets of youngsters and
the night I saw it Ethan Hammer played Emil, giving an assured
performance.
He was ably assisted by
Georgie Farmer as Toots, Izzy Lee as his tom-boyish bike-riding
cousin, Pony the Hat and Keeyan Hameed who won the audience's hearts
with his portrayal of the put upon but persistent Tuesday, who is
continually assigned to man the phones rather than get stuck into the
action.
The whole production
was great and Bunny Christie's amazing set should get a special
mention as it was stunning.
But the stars are of
course the children and seeing them rush pell mell through the
stalls' seats in pursuit of the dastardly Mr Snow and the stolen cash
was fabulous.
Emil and the Detectives
is on until Tuesday, March 18 at the Olivier Theatre. Tickets from
£12. Call the box office on 020 7452 3000.
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