'The Secret Garden' review — this innovative spin on a beloved children's classic is enchanting

Read our review of The Secret Garden, adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel, now in performances at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre to 20 July.

There wasn’t much wuthering at the Open Air Theatre when the opening night of The Secret Garden took place on a gloriously warm summer evening. It’s surprising that this enchanting sylvan venue hasn’t adapted Frances Hodgson Burnett’s cathartic and out-of-copyright 1911 novel before as it’s practically site-specific and there’s nothing stopping a real robin from joining in with the proceedings.

This new adaptation by Holly Robinson and Anna Himali Howard (who also directs) keeps the Edwardian setting while implementing some intelligent revisionism. The sour young heroine Mary Lennox (Hannah Khalique-Brown) arrives in Yorkshire from India full of colonial entitlement following the deaths of her parents from cholera.

When I was recently re-reading Burnett’s A Little Princess, the descriptions of Sara Crewe’s appearance raised the question of whether she could be of mixed race, and in this adaptation, Mary and her cousin Colin (Theo Angel) are the children of Indian sisters who married white British men; both are members of the ruling classes, yet also different.

The first half suffers from a rather hectoring all-company narration with many lines proclaimed in unison, and we’re constantly being told what to think and feel. It lightens up in the stronger second half, but Howard’s production does need more pace and it could be condensed by about 15 minutes (the 10:15pm end time can’t be ideal for families).

The production’s revisionism also questions Burnett’s of-her-time treatment of disability and her idealistic theosophical and Christian Science influences. In this version the lovely Dickon (played by disabled actor Brydie Service), who’s “not a boy nor a girl but a creature of the moors”, walks with a stick following a childhood illness (which does mean he won’t be eligible to be cannon fodder in the Great War) and is initially the target of Colin’s internalised self-hatred.

Ultimately, Colin’s wheelchair (a rather modern-looking one) represents dignity and freedom and offers him every opportunity to live a fulfilled life. Archibald Craven (Jack Humphrey), described a “hunchback” in the original, suffers from “palsies” and his brother Dr Harold Craven (George Fletcher) has a stammer. There are no cures but having a disability is not a tragedy, and empathy (a new concept at around the time Burnett was writing) goes a very long way.

The spiritual element, however, is still very much present. The Robin is represented by Sharan Phull, wearing a red sari, and embodies the protective spirit of the late Lata Craven, while “The Magic” is a kind of interpretive dance of self-empowerment (if nothing else, it's good for the joints, observes seasoned gardener Ben Weatherstaff).

Young adult actors Khalique-Brown and Angel pull off playing children far better than most; Khalique-Brown’s Mary is winningly strong-willed and Angel’s Colin is cherubic when he wants to be. Molly Hewitt-Richards is cheerfully no-nonsense as housemaid Martha (and gives a nimble skipping demonstration), Amanda Hardingue’s starchy Mrs Medlock mellows convincingly, and Richard Clews is good value as Ben.

Leslie Travers’s set design, in which the garden is filled with plants represented by paper streamers and garlands, perhaps over-relies on Jai Mojaria’s warm-hued lighting to create atmosphere after the sun goes down.

But there are sweet, homespun animals: a jumper becomes a fox, a fur trim on a sari a squirrel, and a shawl a crow. The most striking visual moment is actually when Mary finally casts off her dour navy-blue dress and emerges in a new pink frock, her hair released from its plaits with a bow.

There is much here that is innovative and “wick” (including an Indian freedom fighter who delivers a few home truths), though a bit more pruning and directorial flair would showcase Robinson and Howard’s sensitive approach to its best advantage. Nevertheless, a few tears shed at the end had nothing to do with my hay fever.

The Secret Garden is at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre to 20 July. Book The Secret Garden tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: The Secret Garden (Photos by Alex Brenner)