Deepchurch Hollow

Like all good horror-plays, Slippery Rock Theatre’s production of Deepchurch Hollow relies on odd noises, half-glimpses and the gradual increasing of tension to keep its audience on the edge of their seats.Alice Deepchurch (Jessica Kowach) has been pulled out of a secure mental institution and taken back to the hidden room in her family house where as a child she was locked for hours and experienced visions and hallucinations that have haunted her for years. Her social worker, convinced she is psychic and not mad, has assembled Alice’s sister, doctor and civil war experts to find out the truth. David Skeele’s play is perfectly paced, with gradual revelations that suddenly illuminate various characters and their secrets while keeping the audience in a state of suspense. Melodrama is all part of the genre, and is tempered by the cynical characters of Dr Steiner (Zach Nading) and Camille Deepchurch (Jackie Freeman). Camille is a bitch, but Freeman inhabits her so well that you can’t help almost admiring her. Kowach is the vehicle for this suspense and she plays the traumatised young woman perfectly, trembling and uncertain, keeping all eyes on her as she rolls, screams, cries and whispers. Skeele has created characters with sympathy: the dumb and dumber Seth and Tad, two civil-war nuts who re-enact battles for fun, could be annoying, but their kindness and passion for their subject is endearing and they temper the claustrophobic intensity that has been building to this point. The production is performed in a church hall, but would have been perfect in the actual church, with gothic pillars and the cold, damp air. Despite the lack of help from the surroundings, the production still manages to scare, using only a door and grave stone as props. The door becomes the focus for all the audience’s terror and we almost forget we are in a theatre at all. The gruesome and terrifying climax leaves the audience shuddering, and unprepared for the final surprise...This is a tight and well performed production that had me covering my ears and closing my eyes, and is well worth watching for a change to the more ‘artsy’ fringe shows. Just make sure you don’t have to walk home alone.