FARM
BOY
at
the Mercury Theatre, Colchester
18.11.2012
Farm
Boy
is
Michael
Morpurgo's
sequel
to
War
Horse,
and
tells
the
story
of
the
boy
who
came
back
from
the
Great
War,
saved
Joey
from
the
horse
butcher,
and
ploughed
with
horses
until
one
May
Day
in
Iddesleigh
...
Daniel
Buckroyd's
clever
adaptation
of
this
gentle
tale
is
simply
staged:
a
bare
bulb,
a
chair,
serving
as
horse
and
plough
as
well,
and
a
vintage
green
Fordson
tractor
centre
stage.
It's
a
special
tractor,
this,
tucked
away
at
the
back
of
Grandpa's
barn.
And
it
has
a
crucial
role
to
play
in
this
family
saga,
which
covers
almost
a
century,
from
young
Albert
lying
about
his
age
to
follow
his
beloved
horse
to
France,
to
his
great-grandson
taking
over
the
running
of
the
family
farm.
Two
actors
share
the
story-telling.
John
Walters,
with
his
kindly,
lived-in
countryman's
face,
is
excellent
as
Grandpa,
a
contented
sort
of
chap,
but
with
melancholy
moods.
His
grandson
is
played
by
Gareth
Bennett-Ryan,
who
engagingly
suggests
boyish
delight
in
the
old
stories,
and
fully
convinces
as
the
engineering
student
who
takes
a
gap
year
in
Australia
before
returning
to
his
Devon
roots.
They
play
all
the
other
roles,
too,
notably
"Father",
– who
is
Albert
-
Maisie,
his
wife,
and
Harry
Medlicott,
a
rival
farmer,
a
"puffed
up
sort
of
chap
a
bit
full
of
himself",
the
original
owner
of
the
tractor.
Grandson
teaches
Grandpa
his
letters,
as
well
as
helping
on
the
farm,
so
that
the
old
man
can
read
Tintin,
Death
on
the
Nile,
Travels
With
a
Donkey,
Animal
Farm.
He
writes
too,
laboriously,
and
his
first
composition
tells
the
story
of
how
his
father
came
to
win
the
tractor.
As
in
War
Horse,
a
ploughing
challenge
is
involved,
and
the
suspense
and
the
reversals
of
fortune
it
entails
make
this
the
most
exciting
part
of
the
sixty-five
minute
piece.
It's
this
story,
in
the
old
man's
dialect
voice,
that
travels
with
the
boy
to
Australia,
and
re-reading
it
rekindles
his
love
for
the
farm,
a
love
that
started
as
he
sat
as
a
child
on
the
Fordson
in
the
barn,
and
dreamed
of
ploughing,
tilling
and
mowing.
This
is
a
very
different
theatrical
experience
from
War
Horse.
The
relationship
between
boy
and
Grandpa,
the
emotional
heart
of
the
piece,
is
subtly
drawn
in
this
faithful
adaptation,
and
Morpurgo's
unrivalled
skill
as
a
storyteller,
together
with
Matt
Marks'
original
piano
score,
helped
the
actors
hold
the
packed
Mercury
audience
enthralled.
production photograph: Robert Day
this piece first appeared on The Public Reviews
production photograph: Robert Day
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