REVIEW: Coram boy
- Posted on January 18, 2007 8:54 PM
- 0 comments
Coram Boy
National Theatre
By Katie Spain
I don't know about you but I could go every night of the week to a different theatre for a different show. In theatre obsessed surroundings like London there's no excuse not to; you'd still struggle to fit them all in.
When I first saw Coram Boy however, I was temped to curl up in a ball and hide from ushers so that I could see the next production - pronto. Unfortunately, my partner didn't share my enthusiasm and 24 hours without a loo break is asking a little too much of the water works. plus, the National Theatre staff are a diligent lot.
I'll be honest, I hadn't known what to expect of the show and the first thirty minutes had me drained and aching for the respite of the bar. If I'd done my research, I'd have known that Coram Boy was originally a novel by Jamila Gavin. Helen Edmundson adapted the paper work to the stage production we see today. If I'd read more ahead than the tube map I'd also have known that the content is not easy going. it had more blood, revenge, treachery, death, betrayal and love than your average evening of Christmas soapies. The only difference being that Coram Boy is convincing and will actually move you... potentially into standing ovation mode.
If you pay close attention, the tale of two cities evolves. Gloucester and
London. Two orphans are friends at the Coram Hospital for Deserted Children: Toby, who was saved from an African slave ship and Aaron, the abandoned
son of the heir to a great estate. Can you see where this is going? It's a tale of fathers and sons that will put the tear ducts into overdrive. I blubbed like a baby us the atrocities of baby trafficking in 18th-century England unfolded. There are some amazing choral scenes, a set that will make you gasp and enough bodies to chill your theatre-going heart. There's also an underwater scene fit for a Titan himself. Oh, and that interval breather I craved? I didn't get it in the end... the events right before first half had me glued to the seat for good.
You know what, all this talk is whetting the appetite... I'm going to have to see it again. You've got until the 24th of February.
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