There’s something magical going on at Perth Theatre.
Being billed as a world premiere, it is only natural amongst theatrical cynics to ponder if The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar can be all that wonderful if it has taken 45 years to get it on stage.
Ponder no more. The excellent cast of five brings energetic life to the imagination and innovation of Scottish playwright Rob Drummond’s adaptation from Roald Dahl’s short story.
When your dreams come true
Ace story teller Dahl was never short of a moral to play around with, and in this Wonderful Story he investigates not so much the chasing of dreams but what to do with them when you achieve them.
It is sometimes dark, but under Ben Harrison’s direction, Henry Sugar and his cohorts also extract every piece of humour, sometimes with help from the patrons in scenes verging on the variety show genre.
It could certainly qualify as one of Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, his hit TV series back in the ’80s.
Henry Sugar is a rich man thanks to his father, who is dead!
He becomes fascinated by a conjuror Imrat Khan, who calls himself “The man who can see without using his eyes”.
Henry dreams of using the man’s technique to make even more money, which he does, but then what . . . ?
Dr J. Cartwright also has dreams of completing a world-shattering thesis at the magician’s expense, but is it worth it all?
A modern teenager’s dilemma
Meanwhile, fast forward to the modern age, and we have young Mary permanently on her laptop making every effort to attract more followers to her blogs.
She has one contact — and its her mum! Following Khan’s philosophy, her support multiplies exponentially. But where does she go from here?
Eve Buglas is the energetic Mary with all the characteristics and OTT mannerisms of a modern-day teenager — every youngster in the audience will gleefully identify themselves in this animated performance.
As the titular character, David Rankine combines his rich man-about-town suavity with moments of sheer farce (wow factor in his wardrobe transformation!), with Dave Fishley as Michael bringing frustration to new heights as he oversees Sugar’s shenanigans.
Johndeep More brings a bit of magic as the mysterious mystic, with Rosalind Sydney contributing medical mayhem as Dr Cartwright.
Morals, mirth and magic
Perth designer Becky Minto has raided the curtain department to fashion a set of various materials, beautifully choreographed throughout — with Mary’s bedroom cleverly doubling as a laptop screen in this high-tech production.
Morals, mirth and magic — and the final scene was definitely an “uplifting” experience.
This Henry Sugar co-production by Perth Theatre, Helen Milne Productions and The Roald Dahl Story Company, is at Perth until April 2, then moves on to Stirling’s Macrobert Arts Centre.
