The Sorcerer’s Apprentice review – mindboggling bag of tricks

Catch a young audience member at the right moment and you can make them truly believe in the magic of theatre. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice does exactly that, and may coax belief from some adults too. Praising the lighting might seem odd, but Simon Bond’s barn doors, gels and gobos are integral to the many stage illusions, while director Paul Bosco McEneaney, a former magician, empties a bag of tricks on to the jewel-like Buxton Opera House stage.

Philippa O’Hara’s narrator, Gunda, conjures a village of 100 wooden houses out of thin air, the settlement stretching up into darkness — one of many impressively created images by designer Diana Ennis. Much of the story is simply told by Gunda; when it is occasionally sung, the score by Fiona O’Kane and Neve Hutchinson adds to the mystical quality of the storytelling.

sorcerer’s apprentice, buxton opera, buxton, paul bosco, simon bond, philippa o’hara, diana ennis, stage lighting, stage illusions, fiona o’kane