With Halloween creeping upon us, the time is right for a
chilling horror play. Obscura Theatre’s debut production, 'Fell', wisely mines the British folk-horror sub-genre of such 1970s
films as Blood on Satan’s Claw and,
most tellingly, The Wicker Man to
deliver to its audience a spine-tingling and astonishing piece of theatre.
Much like The Wicker
Man, 'Fell' involves a police officer sent to a remote location (here it is a
rural community in Cumbria rather than the remote Scottish island in the 1973 celluloid
classic) in search of a missing girl. While the initial premise may echo that
of The Wicker Man, this production is
strong enough to stand on its own and develops its tale in a different
direction, with elements which seem to take influence from the stories of MR
James and even the works of David Lynch (the play’s revisiting of its opening
scene with subtle variations recalled aspects of last year’s mind-melting
series of Twin Peaks).
The production team, led by director Alex Hurst, have gone
above and beyond to ensure that 'Fell'
drips with atmosphere: before the play even began, the audience were led
upstairs (‘the fell’) to the performance area by two of the ‘Crewformers’ –
mainly responsible for the set changes, they also doubled-up as extra
characters throughout the play. The set consisted of a large frame upstage,
covered and decorated to look like a mountainous fell, from which a box frame
and furniture would be taken on and off-stage as each scene unfolded, and a
door which, again, would be moved around by the Crewformers depending on where
the next scene took place. Technically, the play is a marvel: a smoke machine
created a mist which enveloped the stage, while the lighting design and the
soundscape helped to heighten the tension and chills as the play unfolded.
Crewformers aside, the play features just two lead actors: the imposing Sean McGlynn as Jacob Beckett, the
man whose daughter has gone missing, and Florence Rose King who, as police
officer Jane Shipley, carries the majority of the dialogue in the play. The
script, written by Patch Middleton (who was also the sound designer), is told
from Shipley’s point of view and the dialogue often requires King to address
Shipley’s thoughts, as her investigation into the disappearance of Alice
Beckett proceeds, to the audience. King gave a very impressive performance as
Shipley, especially as the strange events around the fell begin to take their
toll on her. McGlynn, too, did well as the distraught (or was that disturbed?)
Beckett, veering from taciturn to overtly friendly (‘Cup of tea?’ almost became
a catchphrase for his character) from one moment to the next.
In addition to the strong lighting and sound effects work,
the play required the Crewformers to display skill with puppetry during the
play as two animalistic beings and their physical movements as these creatures
were fantastically creepy. With the acting and technical effect already being
of a high standard, seeing puppetry done so well was a bonus. The true star of
the show, however, had to be the sound design – the surround sound of footsteps
on gravel in the darkness at the start of the play, the use of music, the
creaking of floorboards, all helped to immerse the audience in the world of the
play. The soundscape was so atmospheric that it was worthy of an audio drama.
There were, however, a couple of quibbles: sometimes the
sound effects were too high for the actors to be heard over them, especially
towards the end where some key lines from McGlynn were lost in amongst the
soundscape. One other gripe, personally, was that some of Shipley’s dialogue
felt a bit too much like exposition in places, usually when she was talking to
Beckett where Shipley’s thoughts explained what we’d just seen and heard between
Beckett and herself. Yet, taking a holistic view of the production, these
quibbles are just that: minor quibbles. 'Fell'
gives us an interesting story with some nice touches in the dialogue of
Middleton’s script, strong performances from its leads and supporting players
and crew members, chilling creature design and performance, and heavily
atmospheric sound and lighting effects.
Obscura Theatre’s debut production is bold and unlike
anything seen by this reviewer within fringe venues in Manchester before. 'Fell' is a stunning, atmospheric, and
thoroughly exciting and engaging piece of theatre. If you feel like getting
some pre-All Hallows' Eve thrills and chills, then 'Fell' is highly recommended. Hopefully, this production is the first
of many successes for Obscura Theatre.
Reviewer - Andrew Marsden
on - 23/10/18
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