The basement theatre at The Glitch has been transformed into a treasure trove of miscellaneous objects and old-fashioned furniture, fairy lights, and colourful rugs. This is The Lost Library of Leake Street, a wondrous place where each object has a story attached to it.
Isla, a young and curious girl, enters what she assumes is a junk shop to buy a Christmas gift for her mum. Instead she finds that this place is a library, a repository, under the guardianship of Max, a middle-aged and rather intense man. He is summoned by an elaborate mechanical bell pull, and seems nervous about Isla touching any of the objects.
With dialogue delivered at a breakneck pace at times, The Lost Library of Leake Street is a delightful escape from the packed streets of London in December. In the connection of the characters (and actors) and the atmospheric storytelling, a sense of magic is in the air.
Malcolm Jeffries and Ronay Poole play Max and Isla, and their storytelling duo offer a different type of festive fare. The first story is more traditional fairytale; the others more personal.
Poole plays Isla at various ages, from that cheeky child to assured woman looking back; Jeffries’s Max is initially as dusty and inanimate as his objects, but each story brings back his humanity.
The performance space is opened out and set in traverse. Writer/director Oli Savage captures a world of wonder, intrigue, and inquisition. Leave your cynicism at the door.
Take time to check out the set (designed by Savage) with its curious collection. Any object can be purchased by offering a donation once the production finishes to help fund the future work of Vault Creative Arts.
We all need a bit of myth and fantasy at this time of the year. The Lost Library of Leake Street doesn’t hide that life can be difficult, but emphasises that even when we are gone, we are remembered by the stories we told, the stories that are told about us.
I’m giving this 4 stars.
The Lost Library of Leake Street is at The Glitch until 22 Dec (at various times including daily 2pm matinées from the 17 Dec). Tickets here.
Image credit: Phoebe Dyer