Katy Rudd’s production begins with a wordless scene of theatrical magic: a flock of black umbrellas, plangent music, an open grave and sleet conjured up by Paule Constable’s lighting. Seconds later, a middle-aged man stands alone, groping for an unfathomable childhood memory. Spool back to the 1980s, and the woes piling on the motherless family of Boy (Samuel Blenkin, heart-piercing). Something dark has been disturbed in the earth, warns his odd new friend Lettie (Marli Siu), scion of an ancient neighbouring female farming clan. This sounds complicated, but Joel Horwood’s movingly…

Source: The Times December 21, 2019 12:00 UTC