Five minutes in and I was ready to loathe this production. But once I got over the fact that The Borrowers is a political allegory like Animal Farm and should be treated seriously, and saw this more as a Christmas entertainment, I began to enjoy it.

In the end, thanks to Bea Roberts’ script with its updating to the age of the television – much fun with the Borrowers jumping on the remote control’s buttons – and the rather clever way of doing the giant Boy (always a staging problem), it captured me completely. 

One of the problems I find with children’s theatre is the avoidance of jeopardy. Some directors don’t want to frighten the audience. Believe me, the audience loves being frightened, as long as there is safety in the end, and Roberts and director Gitika Buttoo understand that. The Borrowers is full of opportunities for jeopardy, and this production exploits them to the hilt. No spoilers but the crisp packet scene had me on the edge of my seat.  

It is, of course, all down to the acting, which is excellent. The cast know exactly what kind of play they’re in. Roberts has swapped the roles of Pod and Homily from the original, so Homily, an extremely funny Katie Erich, is now the provider who takes great risks borrowing, while Pod is the stay-at-home agoraphobe, nicely played by Darren Jeffries as a man constantly trying to keep his anxiety under control. Arrietty is portrayed with great charm by Amy Tara as a curious and gangly girl on the cusp of adolescence.  

Meanwhile, the human beans are played by Matthew Heywood as the rather innocent Boy, and Claire Storey as the far from innocent and very waspish Mrs Driver. The story is narrated with obvious love by Howard Chadwick as the Boy now grown up. 

The songs with music by Dave Bintley and lyrics by Roberts are especially catchy, although there is an element of storytelling in one or two that you have to have good ears to hear. And Richard Foxton’s minimal set does exactly what it needs to do.  

What the team have achieved is a story that sticks largely to the original but meets audience expectations of a Christmas treat, too. In short, it’s exciting, funny and will be wonderfully entertaining for the whole family. 

By Chris Wallis, Theatre Editor

All photos: credit Gabi Dawkins

 

The Borrowers is at The Dukes, Lancaster until December 31, 2024. For more information, click here.