The first thing that stunned me as I entered the auditorium was the stage set for Humble Boy by Charlotte Jones. A huge grassy bank dominates the stage, with a beehive in the middle, and wild flowers scattered around - giving a wild meadow look to what is meant to be a country garden.

The play itself is a cross between a domestic drama and a philosophical study of the fabric of the universe - the whole based on Hamlet, yet injected with comical moments as the characters struggle with their desires and frustrations. The frantic state of the characters in the play is mirrored by the state of the bees in the garden.

The play seems to try and make sense of life on a personal and also a cosmic level. The central character, Felix (played by Hugh Sachs), is preoccupied with these thoughts - both as a student of quantum mechanics, and as the only son of a recently deceased father, and a mother about to marry the man she's been having an affair with for the past 6 years. Hayley Mills' performance as the aging mother who is figuring out what she wants is excellent, and Brigit Forsyth as the downtrodden Mercy gives the best grace speech you will ever hear. The audience were in stitches.

This is a play that can be read on many different levels. It can be a comical domestic drama, or a philosophical parallel between the state of the bees and the physical universe (and the human state within it). But at the centre is a boy who is trying to make sense of both his personal world after his father has died, and the laws of physics that explain how the whole universe behaves.

Meditative and feel-good!

Sarah Vanstone, 28.10.03