Theatre Review: The Way Back Home

When it comes to productions, it is always the ones that are based on well-loved books that are favourites with my kids. Noey’s eyes positively lit up when I told him that we were going to go watch The Way Back Home live on stage. Of course, that comes with a certain measure of expectation, and more cherished a book, the more real the question: Would the show match up?

Fortunately for us, we have yet to be disappointed. Our latest outing to catch The Way Back Home was no exception.

We knew we were in for a treat when we stepped into the cozy and newly renovated Alliance Française theatre. On the set we spied copies of different Oliver Jeffers books that we already know and love and my already excited kids were full of anticipation.

Owing to the fantasy and out-of-this-world elements in the story, I wasn’t sure how this book would be adapted for stage. I was therefore pleasantly surprised that these were delightfully pieced together in this production which still managed to remain true to the original storyline — with some creative licence, of course.

If you’re unfamiliar with the story, The Way Back Home is about a little boy who finds an aeroplane in his closet. He doesn’t remember putting it there but decides to take it out for a spin. He flies in the aeroplane high into the sky before he realises that his plane is out of petrol and is forced to land on the moon. Meanwhile, a Martian also crash-lands on the moon in his spaceship. The two meet and come up with a plan to get them out of their predicament. The boy jumps back down to earth, then swims home to get petrol and tools. He gets distracted, but eventually climbs back to the moon with the Martian helping him with a length of rope. They then fill the plane’s petrol tank and fix the spaceship, then bid farewell to each other, each finding their way back home. That’s the last they see of each other. Or is it?

What I particularly enjoyed was the fact that the production did not interpret the book literally but instead incorporated that fantasy aspect of the story as part of childhood playacting. So the story here introduces a friend who together with the boy, brings us through the story in an unspoken game of pretend. The plane looks obviously more like a toy plane, but the boy climbs in and the propeller starts to turn and you are sucked into his imagination as he “flies” into space. I thought that was very clever.

The production also incorporated a number of interactive moments, the highlight of which was when they threw a rope out to the audience to help pull the boy back to the moon (ie. the stage). It was a pity we were sitting on the wrong side of the stage and didn’t manage to join in the fun! There were also plenty of funny moments where you could hear Noey laughing out loud. It helped that the theatre was not big, with only 11 rows, so the audience is brought closer to the action. Even though we were seated in the last row we had no issues.

It was, altogether, a fun production to watch and one which I was glad we were able to catch to close the school holidays. Definitely one for all Oliver Jeffers’ fans, though I’m sure you’ll enjoy this even if you have not read the book! We certainly did.

The Way Back Home is now playing at the Alliance Française Theatre till 20 Sept 2015. Click here for more ticketing information.

If you’re planning to drive, do note that Alliance Française at Sarkies Road has a very small carpark. However, there is available ground parking at Prudential@Scotts (51 Scotts Road). The entrance to this carpark is BEFORE Sarkies Road. Look out for an unmarked lane immediately after the first bus stop along Bukit Timah Road outside the new Downtown Line MRT station and turn in. Alliance Française is a short 3 min walk away.

*We were provided complimentary tickets to the show for the purpose of this review. All production photos are courtesy of iTheatre and all opinions, as always, are my own.