*****
CORNELIA Funke’s novel Inkheart is popular because it celebrates those heart-stopping moments you experience when you read an excellent book. You become increasingly involved as your flick through the pages, lost in a fantasy world, invested in the characters, what's going to happen next?
I am willing HOME on, I want to see some truly amazing theatre here... but this is not it
So when Walter Meierjohann’s stage version begins with a narrator perched on top of a mountain of books, the audience gasp. It's a striking opening, inviting you into the world of book binder and protagonist Mortimer (Paul McEwan).
Mortimer lives with his daughter Meggie (Katherine Carlton) and the two of them love to read, wherever they go. It gives Meggie the confidence to dream that one day, she will find her mother who has gone missing. Once the production settles in it begins to feel slightly static, with some of the children in the audience noticeably uninvolved. But once Meggie realises that her father has a special gift, the play does gather some momentum.
Mortimer can conjure up characters from books by reading aloud. This plot development is a gift for any stage adaptor and Meierjohann and Stephen Sharkey run with this idea and shower little ones in the front row with objects falling from the sky whenever they are mentioned; including gold coins. The effect is quite magical and reminds you of a Library Theatre Festive production.
Sadly, this is followed by plenty of flat moments – which feel shoe-horned, fulfilling a children’s Christmas production tick sheet: comedy sidekicks, magic tricks, clap-along songs and pop culture references (Joe Dolce’s Shaddup You Face, here – I kid you not).
As characters read from the likes of Peter Pan and other classics, you are also reminded of better books and more so, fully rounded family stage productions. Still, all is not lost, as there is a sense of magic emanating from the stage, with much owed to the performances.
InkheartKelly Hotten, as the narrator, holds the piece together with confidence. She has a soft soothing voice, the ideal storyteller. Katherine Carlton’s Meggie is feisty and suitably bookish, and Andrew Sheridan’s Dustfinger is an energetic fireball with sardonic wit thrown in for good measure. Paul McEwan’s Mortimer is stoic and loving.
Darryl Clark and Andrei Costin shine as a comedy duo, but their roles do feel more suited to a pantomime. Will Irvine’s Capricorn is not half as scary as he should be. The tone of the piece is part panto, part kid’s magic show, with some adult humour and old fashioned moments. This affects the characterisation – you are always aware that box ticking is taking place. Funny moment, check. Magic, check and so on.
I am willing HOME on, I want to see some truly amazing theatre here... but this is not it. If your kids know the book or the film version, there's some heart and humour to be found, amongst the muddled tones.
Inkheart is at HOME until 9 January
