|
|
|
|
|
A funny sort of horror The Mist in the Mirror
Coventry Belgrade
*** THERE’S a
school of thought that the great novels by the Bronte sisters,
Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
and Jane Eyre,
are actually a bit tongue-in-cheek, and, though scared half to death in
parts, I was a bit unsure if this piece, also set on the North York
moors, might be being played for laughs. The Mist in the Mirror is definitely
scary, from the initial announcement about heart conditions to the arms
coming out of the mirror to grab our storyteller, Jack Lord, but there
were times when OTT went through my mind. An over-excited audience prone
to laughing when either amused or scared didn’t help. The story will have to remain a mystery since
even to start the process gives away the big guns, but I found it
confusing that the same actor with very distinctive looks played the
warning figure in various guises – Martin Reeve as Dr Valentine Dancer,
Sir Lionel Quincebridge and Mr Beamish. Suffice it to say that James
Monmouth (Paul Warriner) has been sent as a five-year-old from North
Yorkshire to live with a guardian in Africa on the death of his parents
and, as he stumbles upon a great explorer Konrad Vane, back in London as
an adult he attempts to research Konrad’s life which inevitably leads
him back to his roots in Yorkshire. The set is just plain magic – it’s very 3D and
writing appears on it, footsteps in the snow and more. How do they do
that? The whole atmosphere of horror is conjured up with fog, plus a
dark and dreary lighting set up, bells and footsteps. There are two women in the cast Sarah Eve as the
maid and Caroline Harding as seer Lady Viola Quincebridge but, much like
the storyline, there’s not a lot for them to do. Susan Hill’s horror stories are world famous and
The Woman in Black is a classic, as a book, play and film. As this
Oldham Coliseum Theatre Production, directed by Ian Kershaw and adapted
by Andrew Quick, follows in its wake, we await the film. To 18-04-15 Jane Howard
14-04-15
|
|
|
|