The Lost Spells At Theatre by the Lake, Keswick Review

Reviewed by Jo Hardy

When I walked into the auditorium the stage was set and looked magical, a midnight blue background with a great big moon shinning out and groups of funky light bulbs on stalks in the corners of the stage.  A large shiny drum kit and other instruments were also set around the stage. I could just tell from this scene that this was going to be something special.

Billed as a new musical The Lost Spells is based on the best selling book by writer Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris,with music and lyrics by Mary Erskine and Will Dollard.

A young girl played by Miriam Nyarko is very nervous about starting a new school in a new area and fitting in.  When the teacher asks her to tell the class something about herself she becomes tongue tied and can’t even remember her own name. Later she comes across an old book called Lost Spells.  It’s locked but from out of nowhere a white owl drops her the key.  As she reads each spell she is introduced to a wild animal who all play a part in showing her the beauty of nature and how important it was to protect it whilst at the same time helping her to remember her name.
All the animals are delightful characters: a cockney fox played by Alex Wingfield who expertly transforms a bin from behind a restaurant into a help yourself cafe, a very polite hare played by Toby De Salis who sings a beautiful love song about dandelions.  That was one of my favourite parts of the show, a very sassy jackdaw with a big voice played by Paula James ,a loud rock chick woodpecker played by Lucy Yates and the funniest of them all a seal who made me laugh just standing doing nothing.  He takes the schoolgirl into the water to experience the wonders of the sea. Also featured in the show is Don Warrington who is the voice of the oak tree.

It shows us the wonder of nature that is just outside our window even if you live in a city.  Throughout the show there are some great toe tapping songs with the ultra talented cast of five playing the instruments, singing and dancing too.
There are some super special effects to add to the magic.  I loved it when moths flew out of the book of lost spells when she turned the pages.  The addition of some beautiful puppets also added to the magic.

A truly magical show for all the family.  I found myself smiling throughout and it was all over too soon.
Showing at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick Wednesday 24th May – Saturday 3rd June the show runs for 1 hour 40 minutes with an interval and is suitable for ages 6 and above tickets starting from £10 can be purchased from theatrebythelake.com.

Theatre by the Lake are also putting on some special events to accompany this show including crafting activities, song writing workshops and post show discussions with the writers and performers.

Rating: I give this show 5/5