Roald Dahl's classic children's tale about a boy finding friendship and adventure with a bunch of idiosyncratic insects astride a giant peach is translated faithfully to the stage by the BG Touring Company. Composed of Lincoln University second-years studying either 'drama in the community' or 'drama and education', they aim to 'take the audience on a magical journey through a vibrant and expressive performance'. Given this intent, it is surprising how little they engage with their young viewers. Whilst the actors are able to satisfactorily bring the characters and story to life, they do so in a rather predictable and uninspired way and at times their performance feels hollow.There is a broad range of acting talent on display in this production. I was disappointed by the rather clueless chorus, who at times fumbled over lines and exchanged uncertain glances. Their few half-hearted attempts to connect with the audience by asking questions fell flat after they failed to win over the confidence of their young spectators. On the other hand, many of the character parts were impressive; the physically grotesque double-act of aunts Sponge and Spiker terrified just as much as the comedic clan of creepy crawlies delighted. Obvious as it sounds, James really stole the show; as ebullient as a Blue Peter presenter but with added sincerity, he managed to relay every emotion of his character using the most effective expressions and movements. There was something magnetic about his understated performance, and the production was buoyed by such a charismatic lead actor. An interactive projection was more or less the extent of the scenery, and although its animations were basic and easy to understand, they were quite tawdry and uninventive, and had the whiff of an amateur PowerPoint about them. Despite bright costumes creating a pleasingly colourful palate onstage, I never really felt as though there was much to look at. This may have been down to the bizarre blocking which saw the peach and its passengers relegated to the the upstage left corner for most of the show, while the chorus members perched themselves on boxes at a much closer proximity to the audience. If the aspirations of this theatre troupe had been bigger – as big as, say, James's peach – there would have been a lot more theatrical goodness to bite into.
