Review's of Alan's recent work
Goodnight Mister Tom at The Sunderland Empire
(click headings below to read review from the original website)
(click headings below to read review from the original website)
Chronicle Live
Review: Goodnight Mister Tom, Sunderland Empire 8 Feb 2013
HAVING seen the film and read the novel written by Michelle Magorian, this play by David Wood exceeded my expectations.
The play kept true to the story and we as the audience got to be involved with the adventures of William Beech, just one of the evacuees that had to be sent down from London to the countryside, in William’s case Dorset.
This is where he meets Mister Tom. I was impressed with Alan Vicary who needed no comparison to the accredited and well known Mister Tom, John Thaw.
Playing alongside Vicary was the ever so quaint Arthur Gledhill-Franks as William.
He and Joseph Holgate (playing Zach) had a great on-stage relationship.
Holgate had me in stitches, his energy made his character come so alive on stage.
The production boasts a very minimal yet simplistic set, having a large, wooden stage with billboards emulating messages about healthy living and wearing your gas mask.
That all changed in Act 2, as that simple wooden stage lifted up to create William’s house in London, in which his mother, played by Aoife McMahon, lived.
I would have preferred McMahon to have pushed the character to the full extreme. With the novel and film I am always petrified, like William, of his mother. Unfortunately I didn’t feel that on stage.
Review: Goodnight Mister Tom, Sunderland Empire 8 Feb 2013
HAVING seen the film and read the novel written by Michelle Magorian, this play by David Wood exceeded my expectations.
The play kept true to the story and we as the audience got to be involved with the adventures of William Beech, just one of the evacuees that had to be sent down from London to the countryside, in William’s case Dorset.
This is where he meets Mister Tom. I was impressed with Alan Vicary who needed no comparison to the accredited and well known Mister Tom, John Thaw.
Playing alongside Vicary was the ever so quaint Arthur Gledhill-Franks as William.
He and Joseph Holgate (playing Zach) had a great on-stage relationship.
Holgate had me in stitches, his energy made his character come so alive on stage.
The production boasts a very minimal yet simplistic set, having a large, wooden stage with billboards emulating messages about healthy living and wearing your gas mask.
That all changed in Act 2, as that simple wooden stage lifted up to create William’s house in London, in which his mother, played by Aoife McMahon, lived.
I would have preferred McMahon to have pushed the character to the full extreme. With the novel and film I am always petrified, like William, of his mother. Unfortunately I didn’t feel that on stage.
The Sunderland Echo
REVIEW: Goodnight Mister Tom, Sunderland Empire
Published on the 07 February 2013
SAY good day to a beautiful portrayal of a life-changing friendship.
Goodnight Mister Tom transports audiences into the pages of Michelle Magorian’s classic children’s novel with aplomb.
At its heart are two tortured souls: schoolboy William Beech who has faced abuse at the hands of his religious zealot of a mother, and elderly Tom Oakley, who is consumed by grief over his late wife.
They are thrown together by the horrors of war, yet what emerges is a poignant tale of how love conquers all.
Master dramatist David Wood’s adaptation of the novel is brimming with charm. He brilliantly contrasts the serenity of Dorset life with war-torn London in feat after feat of clever staging.
Alan Vicary leads the cast as cantankerous Mister Tom and it’s a joy to see his grumpiness melt away thanks to the little boy who is thrust into his solitary life.
Alan is complemented perfectly by Arthur Gledhill-Franks as young, starved-of-love William. The more difficult scenes in which he deals with the loss of loved ones are executed with an empathy that belies his young years.
Joseph Holgate as larger-than-life Zach also shines and provides some light relief from the themes of death, suicide and mental illness which punctuate Tom and William’s friendship.
Special mention must also go to the animals of the piece. Though they appear on stage with puppeteers, the animals, especially Sammy the faithful collie, appear so real you almost forget their organ grinders are there.
I took my 10-year-old niece Amy along to the show and though, like most children, her previous experience of theatre has been the spectacle and pizazz of panto and musicals, she was attentive throughout this more gentle production.
Young or old, this proved to be an enchanting tale for all.
Katy Wheeler
REVIEW: Goodnight Mister Tom, Sunderland Empire
Published on the 07 February 2013
SAY good day to a beautiful portrayal of a life-changing friendship.
Goodnight Mister Tom transports audiences into the pages of Michelle Magorian’s classic children’s novel with aplomb.
At its heart are two tortured souls: schoolboy William Beech who has faced abuse at the hands of his religious zealot of a mother, and elderly Tom Oakley, who is consumed by grief over his late wife.
They are thrown together by the horrors of war, yet what emerges is a poignant tale of how love conquers all.
Master dramatist David Wood’s adaptation of the novel is brimming with charm. He brilliantly contrasts the serenity of Dorset life with war-torn London in feat after feat of clever staging.
Alan Vicary leads the cast as cantankerous Mister Tom and it’s a joy to see his grumpiness melt away thanks to the little boy who is thrust into his solitary life.
Alan is complemented perfectly by Arthur Gledhill-Franks as young, starved-of-love William. The more difficult scenes in which he deals with the loss of loved ones are executed with an empathy that belies his young years.
Joseph Holgate as larger-than-life Zach also shines and provides some light relief from the themes of death, suicide and mental illness which punctuate Tom and William’s friendship.
Special mention must also go to the animals of the piece. Though they appear on stage with puppeteers, the animals, especially Sammy the faithful collie, appear so real you almost forget their organ grinders are there.
I took my 10-year-old niece Amy along to the show and though, like most children, her previous experience of theatre has been the spectacle and pizazz of panto and musicals, she was attentive throughout this more gentle production.
Young or old, this proved to be an enchanting tale for all.
Katy Wheeler
The Journal Live
Review: Goodnight Mister Tom at Sunderland Empire 7 Feb 2013
EVEN if I hadn’t been introduced to the art of puppetry by this show’s puppet director, Toby Olié, I would have been fascinated by Sammy, Tom Oakley’s Border collie.
Almost from the instant he bounded on stage under the control of puppeteer Elisa de Grey I was willing to believe that Sammy was real, so true to life were his movements and growls.
So if the puppet dog was captivating, what about the people in this story of human nature in its most extreme forms of kindness and cruelty?
Alan Vicary puts in a sterling performance as the dour recluse Tom, and is supported by an excellent ensemble class including Georgina Sutton who gives a remarkable performance as the theatrical Miss Thorne.
At times I could have done with a bit more “loud voice”, as my young daughter would say, but it was good to see that adults hadn’t been given the children’s roles.
I can’t compare the stage production to the John Thaw TV film, but David Wood’s adaptation of Michelle Magorian’s book is very true.
Wood deals in “suddenlies” and this play is staged in short, sharp scenes so as to retain the attention of even the most wander-prone mind.
He doesn’t shy away from the novel’s dark elements and Tom’s grief, with the graves of his wife and son at the front of the stage, is certainly not skated over.
And when Second World War evacuee William returns to London the entire set lifts up menacingly like a tomb in which to bury him and his baby sister.
Rather like the novel, this is a heartfelt play packed full of emotion, nostalgia, sadness and humour.
Looking at my fellow audience members, it was clear that a simple story of love and kindness overcoming hate and fear can cross any generational boundaries.
Review: Goodnight Mister Tom at Sunderland Empire 7 Feb 2013
EVEN if I hadn’t been introduced to the art of puppetry by this show’s puppet director, Toby Olié, I would have been fascinated by Sammy, Tom Oakley’s Border collie.
Almost from the instant he bounded on stage under the control of puppeteer Elisa de Grey I was willing to believe that Sammy was real, so true to life were his movements and growls.
So if the puppet dog was captivating, what about the people in this story of human nature in its most extreme forms of kindness and cruelty?
Alan Vicary puts in a sterling performance as the dour recluse Tom, and is supported by an excellent ensemble class including Georgina Sutton who gives a remarkable performance as the theatrical Miss Thorne.
At times I could have done with a bit more “loud voice”, as my young daughter would say, but it was good to see that adults hadn’t been given the children’s roles.
I can’t compare the stage production to the John Thaw TV film, but David Wood’s adaptation of Michelle Magorian’s book is very true.
Wood deals in “suddenlies” and this play is staged in short, sharp scenes so as to retain the attention of even the most wander-prone mind.
He doesn’t shy away from the novel’s dark elements and Tom’s grief, with the graves of his wife and son at the front of the stage, is certainly not skated over.
And when Second World War evacuee William returns to London the entire set lifts up menacingly like a tomb in which to bury him and his baby sister.
Rather like the novel, this is a heartfelt play packed full of emotion, nostalgia, sadness and humour.
Looking at my fellow audience members, it was clear that a simple story of love and kindness overcoming hate and fear can cross any generational boundaries.