The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

Fables for a Boy at LOST Theatre

Fables for a Boy at LOST Theatre | Theatre review
31 March 2016
Michelle Keepence
Avatar
Michelle Keepence
31 March 2016

Adrian Sandvaer’s Fables for a Boy, directed by Ryan Duncan, tells the story of a nameless boy as he struggles from childhood through to adolescence, haunted by the demons created by his own disturbed imagination. His grandmother being the only person he feels close to, he becomes immersed in a dark and troubled existence created by her storytelling, her twisted tales staying with him long after her death.

The audience is dragged into an amateur Tim Burton-esque world, fully equipped with puppetry, low lighting and masked shadowy beings, and accompanied by a chilling soundtrack. The piece seemingly has the makings of a great dystopian musical, but somehow something is missing.

It is without a doubt that the piece is well cast; each of the actors boasts an exceptional voice that send chills down the spine, particularly in the later chorus songs. A standout performance is given by Bethan Maddocks in the role of the grandmother; she brings the fables to life beautifully, alongside an array of fascinatingly eerie puppets and simple shadow projections that add a distinct element of visual interest.

However, the fables themselves ultimately lack intrigue and fall short, given the momentum with which they start. The performance, which lasts nearly three hours, quickly becomes claustrophobic due to its heavy subject matter and the intensity with which it is performed, and the music becomes monotonous, with lyrics that are at times difficult to follow. The concept of the piece is a good one but in practice it is perhaps taken just a little too far to a level of darkness that is overwhelming.

Driven by a strong cast and some interesting visual techniques, Fables for a Boy will have viewers gasping for air and desperately willing the boy to escape from this nightmare reality. Not one for the faint-hearted. Give it a go but proceed with caution.

★★★★★
 

Michelle Keepence

Fables for a Boy is on at LOST Theatre from 31st March until 24th April 2016, for further information or to book visit here.

Related Itemsreview

More in Theatre

Swimming Home: An immersive online experience

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

Live Lab at The Yard Theatre: An interview with associate director Cheryl Gallagher

Mersa Auda
Read More

We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online

★★★★★
Samuel Nicholls
Read More

We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks

Mersa Auda
Read More

Public Domain at Southwark Playhouse

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Unlimited Festival at the Southbank Centre: Centre stage for diversity

★★★★★
James Humphrey
Read More

RSC Next Generation: Young Bloods proves Shakespeare is timeless

Brooke Snowe
Read More

An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories

Selina Begum
Read More

A Livestream with David Bedella at Crazy Coqs Online

★★★★★
Regan Harle
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Michelle Keepence

Fables for a Boy

★★★★★

Dates

31st March - 24th April 2016

Price

£12-£22

Links & directions

WebsiteMap

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks
    Theatre
  • Start the year right with these eco-friendly vegan and vegetarian food deliveries
    Food & Drinks
  • The Capote Tapes
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Hello Cosmos – Dream Harder
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Green stars, two female chefs at the top and a controversially quick award: This is 2021 UK Michelin Guide during the pandemic
    Food & Drinks
  • Assassins: Exclusive new clip
    Cinema
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Uncategorised
  • Schemers
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Away: An interview with animator Gints Zilbalodis
    Interviews
  • Green stars, two female chefs at the top and a controversially quick award: This is 2021 UK Michelin Guide during the pandemic
    Food & Drinks
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Uncategorised
  • Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Les Blancs at the National Theatre | Theatre review
In-Nocentes: An interview with Michael Keegan-Dolan