A SPECTACULAR dark fairytale based on a novel by cult author Neil Gaiman is to be a highlight of the festive season at The Lowry, Salford Quays.

The National Theatre’s acclaimed production of The Ocean at the End of the Lane is to be a key feature of the Christmas programme.

Currently coming to the end of a hugely-successful run in London’s West End, the production blends some spectacular effects with magical storytelling.

 

Ocean at the End of the Lane (PIcture: Manuel Harlan)

Ocean at the End of the Lane (PIcture: Manuel Harlan)

 

The story centres around a man returning to his childhood home where he finds himself standing beside the pond of the old Sussex farmhouse where he used to play. He’s transported to his 12th birthday when his remarkable friend Lettie claimed it wasn’t a pond, but an ocean – a place where everything is possible...

Plunged into a magical world, their survival depends on their ability to reckon with ancient forces that threaten to destroy everything around them.

Writer Neil Gaiman said: “The Ocean at the End of the Lane is about memory, magic, family. It’s about who you were and who you are.

 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Picture: Mauel Harlan)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Picture: Mauel Harlan)

 

“It’s not like anything else I’ve ever been involved in. It’s not like anything else you’ll ever see at the theatre. The Ocean at the End of the Lane has its own theatrical magic.

“It’s why happy people tell you that they cried while watching it, it’s why it becomes a dreamlike experience in memory, it gets bigger the further inside you follow it. Like a duck pond that contains an ocean that holds the universe…”

Director Katy Rudd said: “When Neil Gaiman gave the National Theatre his blessing to stage his novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane we knew that this book was treasured across the world by Neil Gaiman’s legions of fans.

 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Picture: Manuel Harlan)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Picture: Manuel Harlan)

 

“The writer, Joel Horwood and I wanted to be faithful to the novel and at the same time create a big, bold, visual show with more than just a little bit of magic.

“Thanks to our amazing creative team we found ways to fit an ocean into a bucket, and bring huge mythical creatures like the Hunger Birds to life on stage….but at its heart, Ocean is a human story about a family and a young boy growing up, experiencing real emotion and real pain, and finding a way to get through it with the help of his friends.

“We hope we have created something that is both profound and visually exciting that will appeal, not only to regular theatre audiences, but also to younger people from the ‘Netflix generation’ who might not have been to the theatre before.”

Ocean is the latest National Theatre productions to head to The Lowry at Christmas following on from War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.

The cast will be announced in due course.

Ocean at the End of the Lane, The Lowry, December 12 to January 8. Details from www.thelowry.com