Swallows and Amazons, York Theatre Royal – July 2019

Yo Ho and a Bottle of Fun

If you’re sea-sick of trying to think of fun holiday ideas for the family, York Theatre Royal’s summer show has just set sail. Based on the 1930 book by Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons shares the story of four siblings seeking adventure on an island free from grown-ups. The production is adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson, and co-directed by Damien Cruden and John R. Wilkinson.

Divine Inspiration

The cast of nine actor-musicians bring the story of life with plenty of swashbuckling action, fun and nautical nonsense. The music really lifts the show, with a score by Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy.

Witty lyrics, beautiful harmonies and toe-tapping tunes help to keep the pace, and these are the times the show really shines. I find myself still singing Amazon Pirates days later!

Ship Shape

The staging is inventive, with a bare-bones set that encourages the audience to use their imagination; certainly no bad thing in this age of ‘tech’ and special effects. Scene changes are slick and polished, even on opening night, with wooden ships, chests and trees whirled on and off. A pool of water is used creatively too, and the front rows relish getting splashed!

Puppetry is impressive, with a parrot and cormorants helping the island scenes take flight. A surreal dream sequence even sees the winged wonders miming along to the song, expertly manipulated by the performers.

Feeling Hot, Hot Hot

We saw the show during a heatwave and the only downside was that the theatre was stiflingly hot, with no air conditioning or ventilation. Oh for an open-air production! Some children became restless in the heat so remember to bring plenty of water, dress light and maybe treat yourself to an ice-cream.

Whilst there is plenty of action, some scenes are quite wordy, and our nearly-three-year-old lost interest at points. However, for older children the story is engaging and the show is a visual and musical treat. Our nearly-six-year-old has been talking about it for days, and especially enjoyed Roger’s silliness!

The show evokes summer holidays of a bygone age, where true adventures were made and political correctness was lax. Yes, there’s a character called Titty and yes it gets sniggers from the audience but I applaud the creative team for staying faithful to the text! And there’s war and fighting and talk of ripping out insides, but the kids – and big kids – lap it up. Nothing ever crossed the line into truly scary, and the level of menace from Anne-Marie Piazza and Rachel Hammond as the Amazon pirates was pitched just right, even when they ventured into the audience. The violence is light too, think wooden swords, cushions and confetti over cutlasses and cannons!

It’s hard to single out any individual cast member, as the performers worked so well as an ensemble and all brought something unique to the production.

The production is a testament to the creative team and the hard-working cast, a triumph of imaginative storytelling. And at £56 for a family ticket, it’s a price that’s not too hard to Swallow.

MAGIC RATING