CELEBRATED writer Neil Gaiman’s work has been enjoying something of a resurgence in popularity recently – and it’s well deserved.

His graphic novel series, The Sandman, has become a global hit on Netflix while elsewhere on the cultural spectrum his novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, has been dazzling audiences thanks to this much anticipated National Theatre adaptation.

The show has now landed at The Lowry in Salford Quays in spectacular fashion – quite a feat really considering many did not expect to see an essentially small story about loss, friendship and the healing process outside the pages of the 2013 book.

Adapted by Joel Horwood and directed by Katy Rudd, Ocean tells the tale of a nameless boy (Keir Ogilvy) who is shielded by the eccentric Hempstock family when a shocking incident coincides with his 12th birthday.

He is befriended by Lettie (Millie Hikassa), a welcoming but strangely mystical girl of around his own age, where he finds escape from his troubled home life down by a duck pond.

But not is all as it seems at the Hempstock farm. Parasitic monsters exist on the fringes and soon the metaphorical hole in the boy’s heart left by the loss of his mum becomes a real one when these invading creatures latch onto him.

Monsters can take many forms though, and when the boy’s struggling dad (Trevor Fox) takes in new lodger Ursula, he knows something is amiss.

But how can he stop this new shape-shifting new mother figure – portrayed with real flair by EastEnders’ Charlie Brooks – when she can read his thoughts?

The young lead cast and supernatural elements have inevitably led to comparisons with Stranger Things which is no bad thing if it brings the story to younger theatre-goers.

And Ocean’s monsters, in the form of largescale puppetry, are just as scary really – all talons, tangled features, spines and spikes.

Even more impressive was the eye-popping stage trickery during Ursula’s doors scene. But that was just the highlight of a show that was immaculately produced throughout. And just as haunting as the monsters were the themes of family, loss, sorrow, control and the things that leave a ‘mark’ on us.

The novel perhaps allowed some of those very relatable themes to breathe a bit more but it was fantastic to see a moving story like this elevated to this epic scale. Fantastic.

The Ocean at The End of the Lane is at The Lowry until January 8. Visit thelowry.com/whats-on/the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane