Michael's parents have forbidden him from entering the dilapidated garage at the end of the garden of their new house. But unbeknown to them, a tramp with a fondness for Chinese takeaway has made the garage his home.
As his parents busy themselves with his critically ill baby sister in hospital, anxious Michael and his new friend Mina become convinced that the tramp can help make her better. Not least because something very strange is growing from his shoulder blades.
David Almond's magical novel Skellig is expertly dramatised in Trevor Nunn's fabulous production. Every inch of the Young Vic's auditorium is utilised; each nook and cranny, tree and shed full of secret and adventure.
As Skellig the tramp reveals the mysteries of his true nature, so he becomes a metaphor for adolescent Michael's growing understanding of the world around him; the transformative powers of the imagination, and the redemptive force of love.
Nunn uses a seamless blend of spectacle and realism to convey the coexistence between dream and real human drama on which this story rests. The production and its young cast radiate theatrical energy and a sense of wonder.
Skellig
