Josie is a young, beautiful girl who has become a psychiatric patient following the sudden death of her ten-day old baby. She is visited by her pregnant friend Lily draws and the two women become drawn into a dark underworld of spiritual torment, presided over by the titular Skriker, a shapeshifting demonic entity that is able to present itself as different personalities, sometimes seeming like a benign friend but seeking to harm them, with Lily’s baby the main target.
This is a multi-dimensional play, alternating between a dark demonic realm of demons and the world of two young women, each to varying degrees afflicted by demonic oppression. The demonic world is powerfully set up, with a large cast all wearing either horrific or fanciful facemasks and exotic costumes, communally or individually chanting blood-curdling oaths or curses, interspersed with occasional bestial sounds or chilling music. This devilish community is frequently juxtaposed to the isolation of Josie and Lily as the Skriker keeps appearing in various forms, communing with each of them. The play could be viewed as an exploration of inner mental torment but the demonic side is presented as something very real and writer Caryl Churchill has certainly done her homework in giving an authentic aspect to the occult.
The play is effectively presented in the thrust with the audience seated either side of a central performance area and entrances from the middle of each seating block as well as each end of the stage, all used to great effect.
Whilst the action takes place on the central stage area, demons are frequently seen loitering at various points around the room, often taking great delight in watching the mental torment of the two central characters. It is interesting to see that each demon appears to have a specific curse, be it a jolting neck or permanently crouching stance (one even having to carry a stand with a medical drip), giving a powerful impression that demons intent on causing suffering are themselves all trapped in different forms of suffering themselves; hell indeed!
A notable aspect of this production is the selective use of music, typically frenetic string sounds emphasising the disintegration of Josie’s mind. The play, as you might expect is essentially dark with yellow and green lighting used only occasionally at key dramatic moments. The set for the most part is a few stage blocks but the cast of around thirty performers is imaginatively used, creating a sense of frequent movement, with something different often going all around the auditorium as well as on the central stage. Physical theatre is also employed, with various demons becoming items of furniture, ranging from a standard lamp to a swing-lid bin! Could this be the ultimate example of demonic infestation?
Tia Percy-Hamilton as Lily and Josie Emily Murtagh as Josie give convincing performances as the tormented central characters and there are many periods of real pathos as the tension builds, with the demons sinking their claws ever deeper into Lily and Josie’s lives. The various incarnations of the Skriker are well brought over by other members of the cast, giving a composite picture of a clever, devious entity that can appear vulnerable and even sympathetic whilst inwardly aggressive and manipulative. Co-directors Sara Hartigan & John-Mark Reid have demons conversing with each other, sometimes caressing, demonstrating that the evil spirits have distinct personalities, enhanced by their costumes and masks, which vary from the beautiful and intriguing to the ugly and repulsive.
This is not an easy play to watch but it’s not meant to be. The mental anguish that people can experience is presented with a powerful spiritual backdrop that is all too much ignored by the world in general. For that reason alone, this is a play that deserves to be seen, given a dynamic presentation by Preston College that will stick in the memory.
See www.preston.ac.uk/tickets
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
On - 03.06.26
‘The Skriker’ is on until the 5th June 2026.
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