Storm Whale Review – A moving tale of a surprise visit from a little monster | stage

WWouldn’t you like to be next to this beach? Noe and his father share a cozy house with colorful bunting, sand on the doorstep, and views of a striped lighthouse. The Storm Whale, an adaptation of the 2013 picture book by Benji Davies and its sequel, begins with a romantic ode to salt air. These gulls swoop majestically, rather than causing any disturbance.

Lydia Dino’s designs are poetic, but Davies’ story highlights how miserable Noe (Emily Essery) must feel while his father (Richard Lowndes) is away fishing every day. When a baby whale is washed up, Noe gratefully befriends the animal before accepting that she must set it free. Directed by Matt Aston, the film for four to eight-year-olds explores how isolation doesn’t have to mean loneliness. It’s a lesson the mother he lost passed on to Noe, as Aston paints a fuller backstory for the family.

The text is poignant and evocative, but its serious messages are also repetitive and the dialogue can be boringly solemn – you’ll miss the raucous fun of The Singing Mermaid. Noé’s story is framed in retrospect by his friend Flo (Jehan Strehler), whose references to a midlife crisis won’t mean much to a young audience. Much better are the luxurious rides like the imagined strawberries and cream taste if you licked that beacon.

It’s a shame that only one of Noe’s six cats is a full-fledged doll but she’s nicely named after coastal towns and, in a nice touch, Marmalade is a sandwich. The Whale Toy, created by Keith Frederick, is a delightful squishy toy, with a twitching tail and sparkling eyes. Her sense of wonder is gradually realized through the guidance of Sue Ducker’s doll.

The storm sweeping up the whale is beautifully rendered in choreography by Hayley Dale Harrison set to a dance by composer Julian Butler. There are interesting sea shanties too, and a range of light sources are used creatively in Jason Salvin’s lighting design.

Although lovingly illustrated, Davies’s original tale is not particularly playful, and the language is a bit flat. Aside from Noé wrestling the whale into his wagon and hiding it in his bathtub, this unusual partnership lacks the offbeat humor that marks Oliver Jeffers’ boy-penguin double act in Lost and Found. There are two set pieces – when Noe returns the whale to the water, and in a less focused second half based on a storm whale in winter, Noe’s father is rescued at sea. Both scenes are very short. With the wildest sense of humor and adventurous spirit, the show will go down a storm.