A massive hit in the West End, the National Theatre adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s award-winning novel, The Ocean At The End Of The Lane, is currently on its first UK tour and brings together darkness, death and menacing magic.

When a middle-aged man returns to the place of his childhood for his father’s funeral, he is inevitably reminded of his earlier life. He recalls memories of himself as a 12-year-old boy, growing up in the company of his emotionally unavailable dad and his aggravating younger sister. The recollections are made real on the stage. Lonely and mistreated, the boy loses himself in fantasy & science-fiction books, to escape not only the painful reality of his existence but also his overwhelming sense of grief at the loss of his deceased mother. 

Having returned to the place where he grew up, the man finds himself standing by a pond with which he was familiar in childhood. He calls to mind his friend, Lettie, who used to refer to the pond as an ocean. But the pond is no ordinary pond. It is in fact a portal between realities, and Lettie - along with her mother and grandmother - is responsible for protecting the world from evil forces in the universe; evil forces which find their way into the boy’s life in the form of a chilling and sinister wicked-stepmother-type figure named Ursula...     

Keir Ogilvy is excellent as the brave-yet-vulnerable unnamed boy; Millia Hikasa is similarly impressive as the feisty and strong-willed Lettie. There are compelling performances, too, from Kemi-Bo Jacobs and Finty Williams in the roles of Lettie’s mother and grandmother respectively, while as the character of Ursula, Charlie Brooks proves that her talents stretch far beyond the confines of her role in EastEnders. 

As with the book, this stage adaptation is beautiful, fantastical and at times nightmarishly scary. A story involving memories of grief and loss, and focusing on themes of friendship and family relationships, The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is utterly compelling but not for the faint-hearted. As the boy is drawn into an epic fight with ancient, malevolent forces that threaten to destroy the whole world, the production makes clever use of stage magic, puppetry and choreography to create a vivid and frightening alternative reality - one which totally justifies the show’s advisory age warning of 12-plus! 

Although laced with humour, The Ocean At The End Of The Lane features plenty of uncomfortable and disturbing scenes, presenting images of horror and violence that will make you at least contemplate looking away. But this is a show it’s hard to ignore even for a second; it demands and richly rewards your attention, presenting more than two hours of theatrical magic that seems to pass in the blink of an eye. 

Extremely well received by last night’s audience, whose enthusiasm was evident in the rapturous applause at the final curtain, The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is one of the cleverest works of theatre I have ever seen and definitely a show not to be missed. I would hasten to add, however, that reading the book first will probably further enhance your appreciation of the production. 

Four stars

Reviewed by Sue Hull at Birmingham’s The Alexandra on Tuesday 22 May, where it shows until Saturday (27 May). Later in the year, the production visits the Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent (12 - 16 September) and the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (26 - 30 September).