Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Lewis Bray.

Imagination is arguably the greatest gift bestowed upon humanity. It can lead us down many paths that were once closed off for whatever reason  and it can be a shelter in any storm, a place in which to escape to when the world is against you, a place in which to explore and create.

For Lewis Bray, a graduate of the Young Everyman Actor’s Programme and a young man who just instinctively understands how to use that imagination it is a world in which to take inspiration from and in the wonderfully presented Cartoonopolis. The stigma that surrounds autism is shown through the eyes of a family who have dealt, battled at every step of the way and at times beaten the stares and snide comments, and the humour within the family in dealing with the sensitive issue.

In a world in which Porky Pig is friends with his brother Jack, in which his autistic sibling conjures up the most brilliant adventures and scenarios with an array of cartoon characters and in which he is Mayor of Cartoonopolis and yet at the drop of a dime can explode in frustrated fury because nobody has explained to him why the driver who takes him to school is going to be different or that there is more than one caravan site in the U.K. and just because one catches on fire, doesn’t mean it’s their memories that have been turned to ash and dust; in this world Lewis Bray shows the love that he and his parents have held for his brother.

Lewis Bray portrays all the family members with deep affection but also with the gentleness of ribbing that a family can display infront of each other, as well the scathing, quiet comedy rage at the petty bureaucrats who at the flourish of a pen can decide what is good for one person in a world they have never inhabited, and the two act play suddenly becomes a place in which to immerse yourself fully into, a position in which to learn and understand and feel empathy for the struggle in which families are placed into.

Cartoonopolis is a play by one of the most naturally gifted young men you are likely to see for many a year. When you add in the immensity that lives in Matt Rutter and Chris Tomlinson as Directors, the living tour de force becomes even more riotous, more overflowing with generosity and in the end, Lewis Bray deserves every pounding beat of applause that he receives and the standing ovation, sometimes over expected in some productions, is the most heartening and wondrous sight that could be witnessed. Lewis Bray is just furiously admirable for bringing such a play to the heart of Liverpool’s theatre audiences.

Not just a triumph, but a spectacular conquest.

Ian D. Hall