14 November – 6 December
Arnos Vale cemetery is an inspired setting for this most macabre of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories. Originally contained within the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque and published in 1840 it deals with themes, amongst others, of mysterious illness, forbidden love, and hysteria. It is just the job for Red Rope Theatre company who return for their seventh production at this venue. Formed in 2012, they have consistently concentrated on thrilling shockers, at last arriving at the great American master of gothic horror himself.
Adapted for stage by Matt Grinter and performed by three actors who make the most of the genius of the original work and the setting’s evocative atmosphere, this is a triumph.
It is doubtful that the company laid on the natural phenomena for this production, but it certainly helped set the scene. As we scrunched up the gravel path past the headstones and tombs, an eerie mist swirled around, while the moody Anglican chapel lay ahead, candles surrounding the stage. The bright, cold light of a new moon hanging overhead intensified the mood.
We first meet the Usher twins, Roderick (Danaan McAleer) and Madeline (Rebecca Robson) and their friend Edgar (Patrick McAndrew) as children, playing and recounting the grand times they once had in the old maze-like house. But there is an underlying, brooding, warning of things to come.
Moving forwards some twenty years, Edgar tells of a letter asking for help sent by his estranged childhood friend. He is suffering from a curious malady, complaining that he is feeling reduced and blaming the family home for consuming him piece by piece. Roderick and his sister seemingly live alone in the hauntingly strange house with its hidden rooms and secrets.
McAndrew embodies the good-hearted old friend, unable to understand why the Ushers have allowed themselves to fall apart as much as the house itself. Cracks run through the masonry as well as his old friends’ sanity. McAleer meanwhile, veers between a self-centred melancholy and rage at past injustice. He cannot move on and feels compelled to allow himself to be swallowed up by an unexplained curse.
Robson’s Madeline is an ethereal creature and, when not laid out as though a stone-cold corpse on the dais behind the men, she flits in and out of scenes, ratcheting up the despondent mood.
Using a simple front set, action soon expands to the sides and rear of the chapel while an impressive soundscape by Oliver Thomas sets nerves jangling with each crash, boom or hoot of an owl.
Lighting design by Lydia Morgan heightens the tension, fluctuating between piercing bright lights and a subfusc sorrowful glow.
The finale is as shocking and climactic as any Poe aficionado would want, accompanied by a chilling wind blowing in through the opened chapel walls.
A superb production, masterfully acted in a magnificently monstrous setting. What more could you want on a chilly winter’s eve?
★★★★★ Bryan J Mason, 16 November 2024
