Lark Rise to Candleford review – tender, evocative tribute to rural lives in transition

2026-02-11 - 00:15

Watermill theatre, Newbury This music-laced adaptation of Flora Thompson’s novels is a coming-of-age story that finds quiet beauty in a world on the brink of change Flora Thompson’s autobiographical novels, about growing up in the late 19th-century Oxfordshire countryside, have been adapted for stage before, in a 1978 promenade production at the National Theatre. They’re now better known for the BBC series where Laura – note the rhyming name – guided us through the quaint doings of village folk, as quiet rural routines encountered an industrial, urban future. In Hammerpuzzle theatre company’s new adaptation, Laura’s own story is very much the focus. We follow her journey from a childhood in which her future is limited, and her reading actively discouraged. Jessica Temple’s Laura is a tender mix of game and sensitive, clever and unworldly. Alongside her, director Bryn Holding deftly musters his five-strong ensemble of actor-musicians into entire communities, be it fellow schoolchildren comically reciting a backwards alphabet, or pubgoers performing a drinking song you’ll be desperate to join. At Watermill theatre, Newbury, until 14 March Continue reading...