Inspired by her own experiences of evacuation, Nina Bawden's novel is one of the great classics of evacuee children's literature. It tells of 14-year-old Londoner Carrie and her younger brother Nick, who are billeted in Wales with the bullying Councillor Evans. Falling in with the welcoming Hepzibah, known locally as a witch, brother and sister become caught up in local events and shifting allegiances as Bawden mixes myth and reality to tell a coming-of-age tale about the childhood acts that haunt us for the rest of our lives.
Novel Theatre has had previous page-to-stage experience with Little Women and Anne of Green Gables, and the company deliver another faithful if stodgy account of a great children's book. There is nothing startlingly wrong with it, but there is nothing theatrically exciting, either. It is as if every one involved has not been to the theatre for 30 years and know nothing of the stage adaptations of great books produced by companies such as Shared Experiences or directors such as David Farr, Tim Supple and Melly Still. I haven't seen such an excess of set for years. This is a show that spells everything out and leaves very little to the imagination.
Amanda Symonds as Hepzibah, James Beddard as Johnny Gotobed and Sam Crane as the bookish Albert Sandwich get the best of the acting. However, unlike Bawden's novel, which, once read, stays with you for ever, this stage version will be seen, mildly enjoyed and swiftly forgotten.
· Until January 6. Box office: 0870 737 7737.
