The Lovely Bones, Northern Stage (UK Tour) | Review

The Lovely Bones, based on Alice Sebold's best selling novel and adapted by Bryony Lavery, has just embarked on its first UK tour visiting theatres up and down the country. This brand new show certainly packs an emotional punch, focusing on some dark and often untold topics in theatre, but will leave you feeling changed for the better.

The Lovely Bones, set in the 1970s, focuses on the life of a young girl called Susie Salmon who lives in Pennsylvania. However, Susie is dead. After Susie introducing herself and telling us how she died, we see her now in heaven where she is watching her family and friends lives' unravel and how they cope with her recent departure.

The focus of the play switches between her monologue of events in heaven and the events down on Earth, which she is watching as an outsider. The set is quite simplistic with a large tilted mirror on the back of the wall, which adds to the heaven and supernatural feel of the play, as well as corn to represent the corn fields. Also, apart from some very bright flashes at the beginning, the lighting is mainly quite dark, which adds to the afterlife vibe of the play.

As Susie, we have Charlotte Beaumont who encapsulates Susie's character beautifully. Her ability to portray a variety of emotions and captivate the audience from beginning to end is outstanding and is definitely a standout performance of the show. Two other performances that stood out for me are Jack Sandle as Jack Salmon and Emily Bevan as Abigail Salmon. Jack's performance as Susie's bereaved father was truly moving and Emily as Susie's mother was raw and heart-breaking. Also worth mentioning is Keith Dunphy's sinister portrayal of Mr. Harvey. His movement and the way he delivers his speech gave an eery side to the character as well as Ayoola Smart, who was also a highlight with her powerful and determined portrayal of Lindsey, the sister intent in gaining justice for Susie's death. The entire cast deliver a show with a harrowing storyline, exceptionally well.

Although I did enjoy the show, I felt at times that it was a bit rushed, especially the beginning, and some of the characters underdeveloped. To combat this, I would've liked more time to be introduced to the characters and given some background information before Susie's death and this wouldn't make you feel like you've been thrown straight into the drama.

The Lovely Bones is an incredibly moving and thought-provoking play which tells a heart-breaking tale, that will give you a different perspective on life altogether. It won't change the world of theatre, but it's so emotionally powerful that makes it stand out from the crowd. Not one to miss at Northern Stage this autumn!

The Lovely Bones is currently running at Northern Stage in Newcastle until the 20th October before continuing its UK tour. More information about the show and how to buy tickets can be found here.