Children's shows: We All Fall Down

Published on Thursday 21 August 2008 09:08

WE ALL FALL DOWN *** UNDERBELLY (VENUE 61)

IN THE year 1665 the bubonic plague hit the village of Eyam in Derbyshire, and the response of the locals was to selflessly seal themselves off to prevent its spread anywhere else in the area.

This historical story is the basis for this children's show … yes, that's right, a children's show. It doesn't sound like it, and that's even before the descent to hell begins.

In the event, the village of Eyam is doomed, but the village across the valley is doing quite nicely until one of its number takes ill with a mysterious hacking cough and a dropped-off arm.

Fearful, its nasty inhabitants send a young boy into the underworld to try and save them from destruction. What he doesn't expect, however, is that he'll have to figure out how to bargain with a Trickster, and one he knows very well. Blocking his path is Charon, boatman of the river Styx, who's fed up telling people his name's not Sharon or Karen.

The play is well put together, balanced somewhere between sinister and amusing. In some ways it does its job too well, standing precariously between being an out-and-out kids' show, a dark fairy tale in the Tim Burton mould and a black horror story, but the execution is so polished that everyone will find something to enjoy here.

• Until 24 August. Today 4:15pm