When the Second World War air raids threaten their safety in the city; Carrie and her brother Nick are evacuated to a small Welsh village. But the countryside has dangers and adventures of its own - and a group of characters who will change Carries life forever. Theres mean Mr Evans; who wont let the children eat meat; but therersquo;s also kind Auntie Lou. Theres brilliant young Albert Sandwich; another evacuee; and Mr Johnny; who speaks a language all of his own. Then theres Hepzibah Green; the witch at Druidrsquo;s Grove who makes perfect mince pies; and the ancient skull with its terrifying curse...For adults and young people aged eight and over.Emma Reeves has created a stunning stage adaptation of Nina Bawdenrsquo;s much loved classic account of life as an evacuee in the 1940s; which opened at the Lillian Bayliss Theatre in November 2006. This edition includes teachers notes and activities for classes based on the play.lsquo;I doubt... anything will beat this traditional page-to-stage adaptation for ceaselessly involving telling of a cracking storyrsquo; - Evening Standardlsquo;Irresistiblersquo; - Sunday Telegraph; Critics Choicelsquo;Richly entertaining. Funny deeply rewardingrsquo; - Daily Telegraph; Criticrsquo;s Choicelsquo;Consistently excellentrsquo; - The Times; Criticrsquo;s Choicelsquo;Dramatic; imaginative and polishedrsquo; - Evening Standard; Criticrsquo;s Choicelsquo;Excellent. Truly refreshing story-tellingrsquo; - Daily Mail
#2858504 in eBooks 2012-06-18 2012-06-18File Name: B008FLDGQ6
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Macabre. darkly hilarious and implicatingBy R. DecaloHideki Noda has written an elegant and lithe piece of theater in this play--theres nothing unnecessary in it. each moment layers the others. one laughs even as one grows more horrified. and the totality implicates and jars.Our anti/hero returns home to find his family held hostage by an escaped prisoner. The press and police surrounding his home will not help. though. This upstanding man. this everyman. cracks--and resolves to take matters into his own hands to connect with this prisoner and free his family. And hell do this by going man-to-man with this criminal.Reading (or watching) this. you start off surprised. laughing and egging the hero on. You see the little man against a society and system that takes personal issues impersonally and as commercial fodder. A struggle against being taken advantage of or not prioritized. As the anti/hero says at one point to explain why hes stepped away from the fold: "I was a member of (that) society until quite recently. But I found I have no aptitude for being a victim." And so you laugh and worry and feel for him.Until Noda naturally takes the work in the dark and perverse direction that he does. Brilliant work by a master playwright. written so lightly and racingly that you reel all the more at the increasing darkness.How does it play out on stage? I saw a production directed by the playwright (at the Japan Society in NYC. featuring the peerless Kathryn Hunter. Glyn Pritchard. Clive Mendes and Noda himself). A Backstage reviewer described the style in this way:"Performed in English. the production. originally done in London in 2006. clips along. mixing theater of the absurd with story theater. Actors in the accomplished ensemble of four often switch roles instantaneously. generate sound effects. and lend their portrayals a seriocomic aura. There are passages of dialogue-free balletic movement. performed to a soundtrack of widely varied music." [...]
