Review of A Monster Calls at Tolethorpe

Those in the know are swapping their screens for a breath of fresh air on a hot summer night - because when A Monster Calls at Tolethorpe, there’s no better place to be.

If you’re not up to speed on the plot, ask a teenager, since A Monster Calls is a modern British text that’s become something of a classic in schools.

The story tells of a young teenager, Conor, trying to cope with his mother's cancer diagnosis.

The poor lad is juggling being a carer, son and pupil, and his school life is dogged by bullying and isolation.

Each night there's no let up either. At seven minutes past midnight he has a recurring nightmare that a yew tree comes to life and tells him stories.

But these tales furnish Conor with a better understanding of adult feelings - particularly fear, grief, anger and relief.

His boyhood notion of characters being simply good or simply evil is destroyed, and in its place he’s left to work through the complexities of himself and his fellow humans, who can be decent yet fail, immoral yet triumphant, and, in his own case, bereft yet relieved.

The cast of 13 actors, aged 16 to 22, were precise and professional on their first night (Monday, July 29).

Not a word seemed to slip, there were no hesitations or fumbles.

As well as playing named characters in the production, the actors formed the ‘ensemble’ around Conor (Cooper Taylor), dressed in asylum grey for the dream sequences and holding empty picture frames of varying sizes, or 8ft staffs, they moved like dancers under the stage lights to create visuals that were extremely engaging and effective.

There were no weak links and actors swung seamlessly into other roles - Conor’s sick mother, his well-meaning grandmother, school teachers, bullies and friends.

Special mention must go to Taylor, who made Conor a sympathetic rather than pathetic character, and brought the right level of sarcastic teenage humour to the role.

Another performer to watch out for is Louis Iddenden-Rhodes as a school bully, who at one point shows a glimmer of being a better person, but then reveals himself to be even worse than we thought.

Tickets for A Monster Calls at Rutland Open Air Theatre in Tolethorpe, near Stamford, are available for performances tonight (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7.45pm.

They cost £15.50 per person. The play is suited to adults of all ages, and to teenagers, although under 11s might find it more tricky to relate to.

The Recruiting Officer and Sense and Sensibility continue at Rutland Open Air Theatre through August. Tickets are available from tolethorpe.co.uk.

Evening meals are available from Tolethorpe Hall before the show, and drinks and ice creams are served beforehand and in the interval.

The theatre is open air but covered for the audience, with the stage surrounded by a woodland glade.