Moominvalley in November
Rating: ★★★★
Venue: Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London

It’s autumn in Moominvalley. Leaves are falling, rain has settled in. Six strangers arrive, each searching for something. Snufkin is looking for a melody. Fillyjonk longs for order. And Toft wants, more than anything, to meet the Moomins. But the house is empty. The valley is quiet. The Moomins have gone. Based on Tove Jansson’s final Moomin story, Moominvalley in November is a gentle, profound, and life-affirming meditation on grief, belonging, and quiet resilience.

Tuesday night was the opening for the new musical at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Moominvalley in November... in October. Moominvalley in November is the final instalment of the Moomin stories, written by Finnish author Tove Jansson and adapted for stage by Hans Jacob Hoeglund, who also wrote the music and lyrics. Written as a response to the loss of her mother, Jansson felt unable to revisit the Moomin characters so instead closed the series of novels with an exploration of grief, belonging, and the concept of letting go metaphorically, as well as literally by giving her audience a chance to say goodbye to the beloved characters she had created.

Autumn has fallen upon Moominvalley, and six strangers come to visit the Moomin family, only to find that they’ve disappeared. Setting out to find out where they’ve gone and why they didn’t leave a note, they all instead find out something about themselves and each other.

Anyone who is familiar with the novel will not be surprised to hear that the Moomins do not actually appear in this story, sadly I was not aware of this and went in looking forward to some gorgeous puppetry but alas I was left mourning the lack of Moomins in Moominvalley along with the rest of the characters. If your desire for a Moominvalley musical is to contain Moomins, you should know that this one features exactly zero of them.

The show is both aesthetically and musically very beautiful but there was a lot of context from the previous novels needed to follow the storyline fully, to the point where I’m not totally sure the book holds up on its own without any knowledge of the franchise. This show is definitely one for the die-hard Moomin fans and I really wanted to love every moment, but as someone with very little previous knowledge of the franchise, I was left lost and confused for much of the show with nothing really cleared up by the end. Having said that, there is still plenty to be enjoyed about the production even if this is the first time you’ve ever heard of the Moomins.

If someone asked me to describe what the show was like the first thing I would talk about is the aesthetic. Lu Herbert’s incredibly beautiful set design looks like a page out of a children’s storybook and makes perfect use of such an intimate space. The Moomins’ iconic cylindrical blue house has been recreated on a small revolving platform which is rotated by the actors throughout the show to bring us inside their home, complete with the masonry stove.

Herbert has done a perfect job at recreating the recognisable features from the story illustrations, keeping the integrity of the Moomin world while still leaving room for creative license. The set design, and more specifically the painting of the floor has been executed with stunning precision and artistic flair, the elegance and whimsy make it truly the main character for me. Chris McDonnell’s gorgeous lighting design complements the space with ease bringing the world of Moominvalley to life.

The show boasts a talented cast, with a particular stand out performance from Martin Callaghan as Grandpa Grumble. An eccentric old man, Grandpa Grumble is losing his memory and refuses to find it. At first presenting as unlikeable and as grumpy as his name suggests, over the course of the show the audience develop a fondness for him and his strange ways. Callaghan has excellent comedic timing and exercises total command over the character arc, making very intentional decisions to control how the audience feel about the character at any given time. Izzie Winter gives a very endearing performance as Toft, and Abigail Yeo’s lovely vocals make for her perfect casting as Mymble.

What I love about this original musical is that it’s exactly that- original. Very often when we get new work we’ll be able to clearly see a pre-existing piece of theatre or music or an existing concept inside it. Moominvalley in November is completely original in both concept and content, with a hauntingly beautiful score that sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard before.

You can check out Moominvalley in November at Upstairs at the Gatehouse until 16th November. Tickets available here.

Review by Rachel

**photo credit: Simon Jackson**