The Lovely Bones at the Royal & Derngate Northampton Review

Reviewed by Nela Nyczka

The Royal and Derngate is located in the centre of Northampton and extremely easy to get to. It is surrounded by an array of shops, bars and restaurants only minutes walk away. There is ample car parking nearby and we opted for the multi-storey which for the evening was only £1 which is a minute walk away from the theatre.

Upon entering the theatre, we were warmly welcomed and were assisted to our seats quickly by friendly and polite staff. The theatre was much smaller than the main theatre in the Derngate, but due to the interior and décor, I felt I preferred this smaller, yet more intimate auditorium which suited this play beautifully. The stage itself used a large, angled mirror in order to retell the last few minutes of Susie Salmon’s life and the beginning of her afterlife.

The play is set in Pennsylvania, USA between 1973-1985 and is based on the best-selling book written by Alice Seabold. The story begins when 14-year-old Susie Salmon played by Charlotte Beaumont is brutally murdered by a neighbour when she is lured into a hidden underground hideaway in the corn fields only minutes from her home. Due to the nature of this scene, I felt that it was delivered extremely well by both Susie and Mr. Harvey. She is then left in an in-between world watching her family and friends still living and growing without her there day by day. We watched her incredible portrayal of being trapped in this limbo, trying to do all she can to help her family find her killer and uncover the truth. Charlotte Beaumont takes on this role flawlessly and presents her character with such raw and realistic emotion considering the fragile, yet frustrating role. Mr Harvey, played by Keith Dunphy, certainly played a strong role as her killer with some intense and dramatic moments which heightened the suspense. Due to the small casting, many actors not only took on main characters within the play, but a wide range, from dogs to the other innocent women and children who were also brutally murdered by Mr. Harvey using themes of puppetry. I found this was incredibly seamless and had been produced extremely well.

As previously mentioned, the stage heavily relied on the use of a large mirror angled above the ground which allowed the audience to view vital elements by taking advantage of the floor space that we wouldn’t usually be able to view. I found this an incredibly valuable feature that really provided a great deal of more opportunities to illustrate more difficult scenes or concepts.

The running time was 1 hour 40 minutes and give a well worth rating of 5/5. I was incredibly impressed with the production of The Lovely Bones and particularly as I have previously read the book and watched the film, I was sceptical how it could translate to theatre, however this may have been one of my most highly rated productions due to the staging features and the flawless deliverance by this cast. I would heavily recommend this.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £11.50 (booking fees may apply).

The Lovely Bones is at the Royal& Derngate in Northampton from 3-18 September 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk or call the box office on 01604 624811.

Royal & Derngate, Guildhall Road, Northampton, NN1 1DP | 01604 624811