The Box of Delights review: Old favourite is packed with festive treats

John Masefield’s classic 1935 novel, a Christmas-themed children’s fantasy adventure, is best known to many now by way of the enchanting 1984 BBC adaptation.

Now is the first time it has reached the stage and the result is a stylish and absorbing show that will delight audiences of all ages. The primary school class seated next to me was enraptured, as was I.

The elegantly decrepit, eerily evocative surrounds of Wilton’s constitute the perfect setting for this gently old-fashioned tale of the fight to save Christmas itself.

Young Kay Harker (Alistair Toovey) is on the train home for the holidays when he meets mysterious, genial magician Cole Hawlings (Matthew Kelly), as well as the low-lifes who are determined to snatch Cole’s titular magic box.

Name-to-watch director Justin Audibert gets a lot of things very right, from an exuberant eight-strong ensemble to a judicious mixture of puppetry and projections as Kay gets involved in his quest. Adaptor Piers Torday over-stuffs the narrative at times, which means the second half storytelling in particular isn’t always clear.

Yet with so much to like, that’s easy to forgive and there’s rich and compelling work from Kelly and Josefina Gabrielle as a sleek baddie. I suspect this production is destined to become an enduring festive favourite.

Until Jan 6 (020 7702 2789, wiltons.org.uk)