When does a story become a story? In the heart of Waterloo, deep in the luminescent basement of The Glitch, VAULT Creative Arts presents the perfect production for the holiday season. Written and directed by Oli Savage, The Lost Library of Leake Street tells the story of Isla, a young girl who discovers a hidden library while searching for a gift for her mother. As she learns more about the library through its chief custodian, Max, the audience is taken on an enchanting journey through the stories that are held within its walls.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about The Lost Library of Leake Street is the way in which it turns what threatens to be a potential weakness into its greatest strength. By its very nature, the production is almost wholly expositional, with both leads taking turns to regale the audience with tale after tale. However, despite the potential pitfalls of its expository dialogue, the show never once loses its sharpness; instead, it seems to gain a sense of humour, passion, excitement, and infectious whimsy with each new story told.
Of course, the production wouldn’t be even half as effective without the ingenious use of The Glitch’s basement. The lost library is brought to life in the most perfect way; every inch of the set is adorned with lights, trinkets, and photos, each seemingly with its own story behind it. The choice and placement of the props feel eclectic yet wholly intentional, while fairy lights are strewn across the walls and ceilings, lighting up and dimming like synapses in the brain, as effervescent memories of joy and sorrow come and go.
Easily, the secret to the show’s magic is its two leads, Ronay Poole as Isla Greenwood and Malcolm Jeffries as Maximilian Crimp. Both actors play their roles with such profound charm and dynamism, perfectly balancing moments of grief and world-weariness with unabated childlike wonder. Poole’s Isla is the beating heart of the production; she has the task of at times acting as the audience surrogate while also expertly throwing herself into different roles, personas and tones for each story. Jeffries gives a superbly complex take on Crimp; the production ascends to fairy-tale heights as he introduces the magical elements, yet he’s also more than adept at grounding the tone of the narrative, stopping it from leaning too far into the saccharine and providing the pathos found in all the greatest Christmas classics.
The Lost Library of Leake Street is a perfect slice of festive magic, proving itself to be a well-acted, thematically rich exploration of how a story can breach the boundaries of time, space, people, life and death. It’s the perfect watch this holiday season, and it’s guaranteed that the audience will come away from The Glitch with their own wonderful stories to tell.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
