Swallows and Amazons,

Theatre by the Lake, Keswick

An adventure from an idyllic childhood has sailed into its native Lake District this Christmas as Theatre by the Lake launch Swallows and Amazons.

Based on Arthur Ransome’s classic children’s novel of the 1920s, it it has been adapted for stage by Helen Edmundson with music by Neil Hannon and sails off into a new lagoon of nostalgia and adventure.

The Walker family are on their annual summer holiday in the Lakes with their mother, while their navel father is at sea. When the telegraph arrives from their father, giving his permission for the children to sail alone to the island in the lake to camp, the perfect setting is set for a children’s classic tale.

John and Susan are the elder children taking charge of their younger siblings Titty and Roger.

When they come face to face with local pirates Nancy and Peggy an alliance is formed against the ‘barbarian’ adult world.

The set is carefully crafted to capture a Robinson Crusoe feel, and the use of puppets especially for the charcoal burners is imaginative, impressive and very effective.

The production has a feel of musical theatre. The young, versatile cast who fill the stage with their infectious enthusiasm for playing the role of children also provide the musical accompaniment which is so integral to the show.

The story is a snapshot of life from an upper middle class perspective between the wars – being called a lair by an adult would fail to have the same devastating effect on a child today. And a child with a pen knife, sailing without a life jacket or supervision is unbelievable in the 21st Century. How times have changed yet dreams have not.

Karen Morley-Chesworth

Swallows and Amazons runs until January 18

Box office 017687-74411