Small Wonders review: An atmospheric testament to the power of the imagination

Generation games: Nanny (Erin Geraghty) and Bella (Miranda Heath)
Henry Hitchings11 June 2018

Punchdrunk, a company who’ve done more than anyone to make the adjective “immersive” a theatrical buzzword, have recently been criticised for selling out — moving from edgy experimentation into lavish exclusivity.

But their latest show, aimed chiefly at children between the ages of five and eleven, is an atmospheric testament to the power of the imagination.

It begins in a cluttered flat, where we slump on sofas. This belongs to elderly Nanny (Erin Geraghty), who’s at risk of being forced into sheltered housing — even though she seems sharp-witted and her daughter Bella (Miranda Heath) is on hand to provide support. Nanny is a miniaturist, and her art is a source of boundless pleasure, serving as a record of her adventures.

She insists that the audience can enter any of the little worlds she’s created, and meandering recollections of trips to Brighton and a Butlins holiday camp eventually give way to a more immediate kind of excursion.

It would be unfair to say a lot about how this unfolds, but it’s engaging, surprising, richly detailed and pretty noisy. The result is a warm hour-long piece that’s also a touching tribute to the special bond that can develop between people confronting their mortality and youngsters whose lives are just starting to take shape.

Until July 13

The best theatre to see in June

1/10

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