Jack & Sarah – The Mill at Sonning | Review
The highest compliment I can pay Duncan Abel, the adaptor of this 1995 British movie, is to say that Jack and Sarah has the feel of an original play rather than a re-working of a film: it has that ‘feel-good’ factor which the best British romantic comedies often have, and is ideal relaxing entertainment after an excellent meal in The Mill at Sonning’s restaurant. To digress, I had a very tasty, spicy, and thoroughly delicious Keema Pie, with fresh vegetables, followed by one of the Mill’s signature desserts, Bread and Butter Pudding, which my dear mother, otherwise an excellent cook, always failed to make to my taste!
Anyway, back to the play, or at any rate the film which starred Judi Dench, Richard E Grant and Ian McKellen, becoming the third highest-grossing film of the year at the cinema. The cosy, if poignant, story tells of a young married couple valiantly trying to completely renovate their house before their first child is born, and how husband Jack copes when his wife dies in childbirth. In the play, as in the film, the tale is told gently – my colleague had the tissues out quite early – yet with a whimsical sense of humour which, for some reason, works, especially as Abigail Pickard Price’s direction is totally ‘at one’ with the style of Abel’s script.
We meet Amy (Anya de Villiers), who arrives delivering pizzas but soon finds herself as an unqualified nanny for baby Sarah. This is a beautifully understated performance which we warm to straight away. It is one of those plays in which we find ourselves willing the story to go a certain way so that all ends happily, and de Villiers is quite delightful in role: always watchable.
Jack, single dad that he becomes, is given a subtle rendering by George Banks. He is very believable in role, especially when he is failing to deal with the problems he faces bringing up a young child. He treads a fine line between ‘panicking’ and ‘coping’ very successfully.
The play is also peopled with rather eccentric relations, friends and workmen, who seem to fit in well, and whom we take for granted very quickly, such is the excellence of the writing and direction. For example, there is Neil Roberts as Jack’s dad, and Sarah Moyle as Phil, his mother-in-law, neither of whom appears to have much to do with the plot! Then there is Lee White as the builder, who seems to DO very little, except that Terry Parsons’ superb set design is gradually transformed from a roofless house into a smart middle-class home during Act One. Lucy Doyle is almost a stereotype as Jack’s boss, presumably as Abel intended, and Rufus Hound makes various cameo appearances as William, a tramp discovered sleeping on the settee. All of these people play very successfully, and it would be weaker without them, but only JACK AND SARAH really have much to do with the story! The result is quite delightful!
Natalie Titchener’s Costumes and Mark Dymock’s lighting only add to the warmth that this production generates, apparently effortlessly, which is as it should be. In fact, this is a very stylish, beautifully executed piece of theatre, and highly recommended! See it if you can as an antidote to the stresses of life – it works!
Review by John Groves
When Jack, a workaholic lawyer, is suddenly left to raise his baby daughter alone, his carefully ordered world unravels. Enter Amy, a free-spirited au pair with a big heart and an even bigger personality. Against all odds, and with a little help (and hindrance) from an eccentric cast of family and friends, their two very different worlds collide in the most surprising and life-affirming way.
Nat / Alain – Lee White
Sarah / Anna – Lucy Doyle
Jack – George Banks
Phil / Lizzy – Sarah Moyle
William – Rufus Hound
Michael – Neil Roberts
Amy – Anya De Villiers
Writer – Tim Sullivan
Adaptor – Duncan Abel
Director – Abigail Pickard Price
Casting Director – Andrew Lynford
Set Designer – Terry Parsons
Scenic Artist – Natasha Elcox
Costume & Hair Designer – Natalie Titchener
Lighting Design – Mark Dymock
Sound Design – Ella Wahlström
Movement Director – Amy Lawrence
JACK & SARAH
The Mill at Sonning
23 April to 14 June 2026