The National Theatre’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is coming to Liverpool next year.
Described as a “thrilling adventure of fantasy, myth and friendship”, The Ocean At The End Of The Lane tells the story of a man who returns to his childhood home and finds himself standing beside the pond where he used to play. He's then transported back to his 12th birthday where his friend claimed it was an ocean, not a pond – “a place where everything is possible”.
The pair are then plunged into a magical world where their survival depends on their ability to reckon with ancient forces that threaten to destroy everything around them. The production will take audiences on an “epic” journey to a childhood once forgotten, exploring the darkness that lurks at the edge of it.
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The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is directed by Katy Rudd ( Camp Siegfried ) and adapted by Joel Horwood ( Skins , I Want My Hat Back ), and features an ensemble cast of 17. The National Theatre production is visiting more than 29 towns and cities across 40 weeks in 2023, including the Liverpool Empire in May, after having success in the West End.
Writer Neil Gaiman said: “The Ocean at the End of the Lane is about memory, magic, family. It’s about who you were and who you are. It’s not like anything else I’ve ever been involved in. It’s not like anything else you’ll ever see at the theatre. The Ocean at the End of the Lane has its own theatrical magic.
“It's why happy people tell you that they cried while watching it, it's why it becomes a dreamlike experience in memory, it gets bigger the further inside you follow it. Like a duck pond that contains an ocean that holds the universe…”
Director Katy Rudd said: “When Neil Gaiman gave the National Theatre his blessing to stage his novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane we knew that this book was treasured across the world by Neil Gaiman’s legions of fans. The writer Joel Horwood and I wanted to be faithful to the novel and at the same time create a big, bold, visual show with more than just a little bit of magic.
“Thanks to our amazing creative team we found ways to fit an ocean into a bucket, and bring huge mythical creatures like the Hunger Birds to life on stage, but at its heart, Ocean is a human story about a family and a young boy growing up, experiencing real emotion and real pain, and finding a way to get through it with the help of his friends. We hope we have created something that is both profound and visually exciting that will appeal, not only to regular theatre audiences, but also to younger people from the ‘Netflix generation’ who might not have been to the theatre before.
“It is a beautiful, rich, multi-faceted story and as this production goes on tour we are still adapting and evolving it and finding new meaning in its depths. That is the magic of live theatre and we can’t wait to share it with our audiences.”
The Ocean at the End of the Lane will be at the Liverpool Empire from May 2 to 6, 2023. The production is suitable for over 12s. Tickets are not on sale yet, so keep an eye on the Empire website for information.
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