Hetty Feather at the Mayflower Theatre Southampton Review
Hetty Feather
Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
4-6 March 2016
Reviewed by Joanne Hughes
An absolutely outstanding performance. My little one and I were captivated and enthralled the whole way through. With a cast of just six actors, the life story of Hetty Feather was thrillingly brought to life in front of our eyes.
Although I had not read the best-selling book by Jacqueline Wilson, I had read the reviews for the show, and seen the pictures of it, so I was thrilled to get the chance to take my little one to see it at the fantastic Mayflower Theatre in Southampton. The evening started with the two musicians of the show (seriously, there are just two!), doing an opening piece, which was amusing and interactive, and warmed up the excited audience in preparation for the show ahead.
The whole show is performed with one set consisting of a circus ring with a trapeze, ropes, streaming aerial silks, and scaffolding to climb and swing from. We first meet the plucky red-head, Hetty Feather, swinging in the ring of the trapeze, as she begins to tell us her story.
Her story is quite a sad one; unwillingly given up as a baby by her mother to the Foundling Hospital, she is given the name, Hetty Feather by the horrible Matron Stinking Bottomly. From here she is sent off to a foster family, where she grows up with her loving foster mother Peg, foster brother Jem, whom she grows very fond of; and fellow foundlings Gideon, who doesn’t want to be a soldier, he wants to be a servant girl; and spiteful Saul. The simple set becomes their playground as they clamber over it, swing from it, and turn it into Hetty’s favourite oak tree.
Just as Hetty is, we are captivated when the circus visits. As two paper fans and an air-conditioning tube magically transform into an elephant – a truly wonderful moment for me when my son realises this – and the actors don plumes and tails to become Madame Adeline’s horses, we smile at the silliness. From this moment on, Hetty dreams of joining the travelling circus, which seems to symbolise her urge for freedom and self-expression, and of finding her true mother, whom she believes to be Madame Adeline; but a very different fate awaits her.
At the age of six she is returned to the grimness of the Foundling Hospital, and separated from all those she had grown to feel are her family. The symbolic cutting of Hetty’s hair when she returns to the hospital was horrifying, with great loads of red ribbon thrown into the air – a moment which struck the heart of my little one and I. But the plucky Hetty does not give up and overcomes all, finding her real mother and a true family of her own.
The amazing aerial acrobatics, stunning talent of the multi-character cast, and integral live music work together in perfect harmony to provide an outstanding performance – one not to be missed.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £19 to £22.50 (booking fees may apply).
Hetty Feather is at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton until 6 March 2016. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 02380 711811.
Mayflower Theatre, Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1GE | 02380 711811
