REVIEW: Hetty Feather, Nuffield Southampton Theatres Campus

IT'S a glorious celebration of the power of the imagination.

Victorian foundling Hetty Feather has to have a rather vivid imagination to cope with life in a London institution for abandoned children where it's pretty tough to put it mildly.

This beautiful Olivier Award nominated show, adapted for the stage from Jacqueline Wilson's bestseller, is a nearly two and a half hour flight of fancy as a simple set with aerial props takes us on a fantastic adventure.

Hetty makes every attempt to find her mother, via a foster family, a mad matron at the Foundling Hospital and a travelling circus, which provides some of the best moments with acrobatics, an elephant and four horses sporting the best comedy facial expressions, stomping feet and even a poo incident, much to the delight of my young companions.

Jacob, aged nine, and seven-year-old Hannah were amazed by it all, completely immersed in the storytelling.

The many children in an appreciative crowd were spellbound by the show, an impressive coup for Nuffield's Christmas season.

A cast of just six, plus two musicians, display incredible physicality, transforming before your very eyes from unruly toddlers to street urchins.

Phoebe Thomas is perfectly cast as the ever-present Hetty Feather. Red hair flying, she is energetic, feisty and full of fun.

Matt Costain is also outstanding as he doubles as the tyrannical Matron Bottomly and loving foster brother Jem.

This is an improvement on the already brilliant version of Hetty Feather that visited Mayflower Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre on its last tour. There's a few changes in direction which work superbly well.

It's a rollercoaster ride with the most marvellous message for the young audience. Whatever life throws at you, you can be whoever you want to be.

LORELEI REDDIN

Hetty Feather runs until January 7. Tickets: 023 8067 1771 or nstheatres.co.uk