The Ocean at the End of the Lane (West End) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (108)
See it if you like excellent story-telling
Don't see it if you don't like Gaiman.
See it if You like a fast-paced adventure story filled with special effects and excellent staging.
Don't see it if You don't like stories that may be a bit scary Read more
See it if You enjoy fantasy stories and want a visually stunning piece of theatre.
Don't see it if You want something more realistic. This is a completely fantasy story.
See it if You like whimsical stories and great staging.
Don't see it if NA
See it if Beautifully sophisticated take on a children’s story. Eerie and enchanting stuff, the staging is magical.
Don't see it if Perhaps not a winner for those seeking out more adult, urbane entertainment.
See it if you want to experience a real magic, cry and laugh at a really good story
Don't see it if you’re not a fan of fantasy world
See it if you enjoy a play that cleverly questions identity and choices one makes at the worst of times, all framed in a magical childhood world.
Don't see it if you prefer plays moving at a faster pace, as the story sometimes can linger onto detail that might otherwise be a bit dragging.
See it if Riveting staging of a Stranger-Things vibed magical surrealism story on loss and loneliness. Suspense keeps you on your toes.
Don't see it if Another (awkward, lonely White) boy meets (magical manic pixie) girl where the girl's love saves him. She sacrifices a lot for him. Read more
Critic Reviews (11)
"The whole production can be seen as an astute study of the psychological defence mechanisms children employ to escape possible abuse and definite grief and loneliness."
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“It’s no wonder The Ocean at the End of The Lane has been such a success, and this brief return to the West End is one final chance to see a production that is breathtakingly magical, in more ways than one.”
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Alongside them, the entire cast is just remarkable. The way Trevor Fox (Dad) goes through the motions and how Finty Williams (Old Mrs Hempstock) carefully balances grandmotherly warmth and ancient powerful being left me speechless at times. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is probably the most well rounded production I have seen in a while - wholesome and healing.
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"This is a show in which illusions and magical tricks – cups appearing out of nowhere - sit side by side with powerful appeals to the imagination."
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If anything, the diverse disciplines of theatre work even more closely together here to weave a spell than they did at the National. We all thought this transfer wouldn’t happen, even Gaiman. I’m glad we were wrong.
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The bottom line is, shows like this don’t come along very often. Maybe it’s changed, maybe I’ve changed, but second time out ‘The Ocean at the End of the Lane’ felt bigger, stranger, sadder and more beautiful – I wish I could swim in its twilight waters for longer.
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It’s a coming-of-age tale that will appeal to all ages, fascinatingly muddying our sense of time, blurring the boundaries between memory and imagination – if it feels true, it is true – and showing how stories can make sense of our reality.
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Capturing the darkness and dreamlike strangeness of Neil Gaiman’s bestselling 2013 novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a pacy fantasy thriller occasionally overloaded by its own ambitious exuberance.
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