Lucy Russell Byrne is the amazing script writer and director of The Secret Garden for Hills Youth Theatre. She has adapted the classic story into a beautiful production with about 80 youth performers on the stage in Stirling Theatre. She’s cleverly and beautifully adapted this lovely story about a spoilt, young girl who is sent to live with her rich, reclusive uncle and a whole lot of servants in a big old house in England. Mary is very lonely, in spite of having loving servants. In her wandering around the big old house and gardens, she discovers several secrets. One is a secret garden. Her mission is to gain entrance and to bring it back to life. As a result, lots of relationships are rejuvenated, reconnected, and healed through the power of friendship and the magic of nature.
Asher Szentirmay plays Mary Lennox beautifully. She is both the selfish, precocious child, but later we learn about her tender, positive, strong side. Asher develops her character to show her ranges of emotion very well. Martha, the maid who looks after Mary and befriends her, in spite of keeping secrets from her, is lovingly portrayed by Kestrel Carney. Lachie Topham, as Dickon Martha’s brother, was ideal choice of character for this nature-loving, grounded brother of Martha, and had a great English accent.
The accents, both the ‘posh’ upper class English accents of the Craven family and the common English accent of the locals were quite pronounced and well sustained.
Adelaide Neal did a beautiful job as the ethereal Lily Craven with her voice and her soft, gentle, wafting presence. Livvy Whitehead was perfect as little Robin Redbreast. She just oozed character and happiness, fluttering around in her little red dress, when everything seemed to be lost, a great symbol of positivity and hope. Tyler Hender as Ben Weatherstaff, the grumpy gardener, played his part very well, and was positively surprised when the garden, especially the roses, bloomed again. The tantrum-prone invalid, Colin Craven, whom Mary discovered locked away in the house and befriended, was charmingly played by Rafferty Sears, also had a good dose of Mary’s positivity and healing.
There were many other young promising actors, too many to individually describe, that made up this great performance team.
The costumes and hats, makeup and props were all excellent. The period costumes looked very authentic, and the children wore them with pride. The flowers were bright and cheery. All their fabric petals, leaves, roses and flowers looked fantastic and suited the way that they were growing. Creatively costumed birds and animals of differing types were well dressed as well as well performed – a black bird, a sheep, a fox and a couple of little furry creatures. Well done Di Mason, Jen and Matilda Neal, Bev Heading, Leonie Dewick and lots of other seamstresses and helpers.
On Opening Night, at times, some of the audience had trouble hearing what the actors were saying, because they didn’t project their voices enough or there was music playing in the background at the same time, which will improve as the production goes on.
Special effects and sound by Mark Bickford, Andrew Russ, Cameron Sears and team, was excellent, especially the Indian music, the chugging of the old steam train and the eerie sounds of the moors which set the scene and the atmosphere and signified changes in time.
Tanya Thorne, the choreographer, assisted by Amelia Eckhardt, created some wonderful dances for the youth disguised as flowers, bees and fairies in the garden, especially the little ones. Just having 30 or 40 or 50 children on stage dancing all together, is a very good achievement.
Set design by Peta Shannon and Lucy Russell Byrne was minimal, but adequate and had clear areas to designate the difference between inside and outside the Secret Garden and inside the bedrooms and other rooms of the mansion. Clever construction of the set by Rob Wells and team and Cheryl Wood’s scenic art team of painters created a wonderful setting for the performance.
The audience of parents and friend was very supportive with lots of oohs and aahs and clapping, they loved this sad but positive story of many layers of learning and growing.
