When Darkness Falls - Park Theatre / 2023 Tour

[joem]

'Tis the season to be chilled and scared out of your wits! Or so it would seem from the sudden glut of ghost stories on offer on the London stage at the moment.

Actually, I do have a problem with the genre on stage, much as I love reading ghost stories, watching horror movies and fondly remember Vincent Price on the radio doing Edgar Allan Poe etc. The problem is very simple, old-style horror is in the mind more than in what is seen. It is in anticipation, in the fear as you sit by yourself in the dark while the wind howls outside your lonely abode that, however preposterous what you're reading might be, who knows what may be out there and there's no-one to save you..... or the tricks which camera and music can play on you when you're watching superior horror stuff in a film.

The theatre does not have these weapons to command. Effects which can startle you in a film are limited by what is possible and often come out as phony. So we resort to loud bangs and flickering lights and being told about other characters being very scared, rather than being scared ourselves.

Case in point here - I forget how many times the words "chill" "chilling" "chilled" were said. Basically a two-hander with one character who is sceptical of the supernatural being told various ghost stories by a convinced writer. Nice set, decent twist but I've been more frightened watching football sometimes.

However if you enjoy the likes of the stage version of "The Woman In Black", "Ghost Stories", "The Weir" etc.... you will enjoy this play written and directed by Paul Morrissey.

[mkb]

Having seen this last night, I can't disagree with the previous post.

I was discussing after whether I have ever seen anything genuinely spooky in a theatre. It's rare in film -- although the recent The Night House is a fine example of a gripping and scary horror -- but on stage, I really can't recall anything. The Woman in Black is laughably bad, and this summer's 2:22 A Ghost Story suffered from undiluted tedium leading to an unsatisfying pay-off, and a quality of acting from a leading lady that the West End hasn't endured since Pixie Lott's Holly Golightly.

Thankfully, When Darkness Falls at least has two competent actors, and, unlike 2:22, the sound and lighting effects are well crafted. However, I think this show will appeal more to kids under 14 who will have a ball. For anyone older, the scares are familiar and predictable and miss their mark. The dialogue is largely akin to listening to someone reading a rambling novel. The lack of any noticeable ventilation in the auditorium led to a warm stuffiness and a tendency for this viewer to micro-nap during several of the longueurs. Overall, this dragged, and was worth only two stars.

Perhaps theatre horror, is not for this horror fan.

One act: 19:32-21:01

[asfound]

I think it depends on what people want from horror. For me, jump scares aren't scary in film and obviously don't really exist in books. When I've seen them on stage they are even less effective as the artifice is immediately apparent and any post-startle fear is diffused by the fact that you'r surrounded by people, who often laugh or mutter to themselves to deal with the shock of the loud music or bang.

Where I think theatre is missing a trick with the genre is really amping up its strengths, which would be slow burn dread, atmosphere, imagery, and tension. And the shocks should come from the dialogue, not cheap sound effects and props. Recently, one vignette of Three More Sleepless Nights at Greenwich Theatre exemplified this - I found the girlfriend character's casually disturbing statements ("I think I'm dead") and the guy's indifference and failure to acknowledge them genuinely "chilling", far more than any ghost story.

I think the scariest moment I can recall, where you could feel the collective horror of the audience, was the reveal of Girls & Boys at Royal Court. Or the build up and visuals of One for the Road at the Harold Pinter theatre, or simply the unrelenting situational horror of Cleansed at NT.

I think the only effective straight-up billed horror I can recall was X, again at the Royal Court. I'd love to see more horror on stage, but you're right that trying to mimic mainstream cinematic horror is a misguided.

[mkb]

Come to think of it, Punchdrunk's Drowned Man and Sleep No More had some genuinely spooky parts, especially in one-on-ones. I remember the alternative VIP opening to Drowned Man had a witch-like creature appear from nowhere, standing atop a table around which our small group was seated. That was a proper jump scare!

[mkb]

Forgot to mention previously that the audience was 50% mask wearing, of which about a third were doing the somewhat dumb, mouth-only technique. No encouragement or enforcement by Park staff.

Audience groups had one seat unoccupied between them. Not really sure what that achieved, given the poor ventilation, disregard for masks, and absence of vaccination checks.

[BurlyBeaR]

On tour in 2023

britishtheatre.com/when-darkness-falls-tour/