Dorset, Somerset &amp; Bristol

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dorsetsomerset.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-1-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-66555" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-1-1.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-1-1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-1-1-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-1-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-1-1-787x525.jpg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



A story about a 13-year-old boy dealing with grief while at the same time being bullied at school doesn’t exactly sound like the most cheerful piece of theatre. But Sally Cookson’s brilliantly inventive stage adaptation of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/a-monster-calls" target="_blank">A Monster Calls&nbsp;</a> on at the Bristol Old Vic from Weds 13 to Sat 23 April, will grip you from the start. 



Impressive aerial rope skills, Benji Bower’s powerful hypnotic electro/classical soundtrack performed by live musicians and a polished 12-strong ensemble cast bring this intense novel energetically to life.



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Based on the Carnegie and Greenaway Medal-winning novel – the only book ever to receive both awards – written by British-American young adult author Patrick Ness, was based on an idea by award-winning author Siobhan Dowd, who sadly died from breast cancer, aged 47.



The 2016 film, adapted by Ness and starring Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Liam Neeson and Lewis MacDougall, was a hard act to follow but Cookson’s Olivier Award-winning London production at the Old Vic in 2018 opened to rave reviews. Devised collaboratively with the original London company, the show was described as “a wondrous feat of group-devised communal story-telling” (The Independent) and “typically inventive and mightily stirring” (Telegraph). The collaborative director has also won plaudits for La Strada, Hetty Feather, Jane Eyre and Peter Pan.&nbsp;



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Michael Vale’s bare white minimalist design with rows of wooden school chairs facing each other on either side of the stage is stark and stylish.&nbsp;The ensemble sits on the chairs at the side when not playing multiple parts or mimicking the central character’s inner life through physical theatre and mime.



Conor’s daily morning routine of getting ready for school is staged with wit and easily relatable for kids and parents. There’s also an intimacy – in one school scene the chairs are moved in a row to face the audience and we see Conor drift off into a slo-mo dream sequence imagining his mum before she’s ill dancing with a coffee.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="750" src="https://dorsetsomerset.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-13-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-66567" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-13-1.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-13-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-13-1-400x300.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-13-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/A-Monster-Calls-22-credit-Manuel-Harlan-13-1-700x525.jpg 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Lighter-hearted moments include Conor’s grandma bringing round her old wigs for his mum to try on – one channelling Martha Reeves, another Diana Ross.



Suffering from reoccurring nightmares the teenager wakes at 12.07 like Groundhog Day (or night in this instance).&nbsp;Alienated from his father, who flies over from his new family home in America, and a strict grandma, he turns to the dreamlike monster who appears at his bedroom window one night formed from the ancient yew tree outside. Ropes are ingeniously bound together to resemble the magical yew tree.



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The Monster is actually quite menacing, whether hanging down from the yew tree or walking on stage in stilts and tells Conor three stories, provided the boy will tell him a fourth in return – the truth. &nbsp;“Stories are important,” he tells the teenager.



The freezing of time is a major theme. Clocks feature as projected images on the white wall from Conor’s digital alarm clock to his grandma’s old Victorian heirloom. Ropes are not only used to represent the yew tree but cleverly form a steering wheel and seat belts in an imaginary car and the swinging pendulum of grandma’s clock.



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As his mum’s health deteriorates Conor is bullied at school by three classmates. Harry is the ringleader with side-kick Sully telling him in recognisable street slang: “Just ‘cos I’m a girl don’t think I won’t bang you up.”&nbsp; And when teacher Miss Godfrey tells Conor in reference to Harry “a bully with top marks and charisma is still a bully – he will probably be Prime Minister one day”, it raises more than a few pertinent laughs among the adults!



With its gig-like filmic projections across the back wall, hypnotic score reminiscent of Radiohead and Massive Attack and aerialism, the overall sensory effect is stunning. 



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This cathartic coming-of-age story of a young teen’s emotional journey is painfully honest and exceptionally moving. Bring tissues.



Not surprisingly then, a monster hit.



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A Monster Calls is on at the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Bristol Old Vic (opens in a new tab)" href="https://bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/a-monster-calls" target="_blank">Bristol Old Vic</a> from Weds 13 to Sat 23 April. Tickets from £10. Suitable 10 years +



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Photos: Manuel Harlan.

Review: Monster Calls

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