Take it from Edgar Allen Poe, "Once upon a Halloween dreary, the perfect night of entertainment will cheer thee." That was certainly the case this week at One Man Poe, a double double-bill production, that afforded delight and dismay. Upon entering the cellar of the Barons Court Theatre, an already gloomy locale, we are greeted with a crimson bath of light, an eerie ambience, and Stephen Smith curled up, paranoid and skittish. This is our introduction to a captivating night of terror, guilt, grief and murder most foul.
A captivating night of terror, guilt, grief and murder most foul
Poe is a masterful storyteller and Smith guides us smoothly through Poe’s oeuvre with panache. Despite remaining in the same space with minimal changes in set, each story retains its individual character - aided heavily through expertly selected costumes and lighting changes, as operated by Stephanie Van Driesen. Praise must be thrown to Smith, whose commanding voice and physical control creates four completely distinct characters, while maintaining the Poe-esque nature of dialogue and timbre. Particularly praiseworthy is the physicality of the protagonists from The Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven, convincing us entirely of each character’s insanity and age respectively. His physicality also conjures up the centrepieces of each work, from the eponymous pit and pendulum to the raven atop a bust of Pallas, leaving these harrowing images imprinted upon our imaginations. Indeed, they appear visible in his very eyes. From the quivering twitches of one mentally tortured in The Tell-Tale Heart, to the fatigue of the physically abused victim of the Spanish Inquisition in The Pit and The Pendulum, Smith displays the mastery of his craft. The second half does not disappoint, capturing the violent irony of the protagonist in The Black Cat and the aged woe of the narrator of The Raven; Smith brings these singular characters to life.
Between the stories in both the first and second acts of each billing, serious costume and makeup changes take place. In less experienced hands this might be just an awkward silence, but with Smith in control it is mesmerising to see the new characters emerge, while music from Joseph Furey expertly captures the mood of each piece. Maintaining a pefectly judged and subtle sound level allowed the performance and Poe’s verbosity to thrive, while also contributing to the eeriness of the evening. The costume changes culminate in a marvellous connection between the first and final pieces, mortally linking the first horror to the ultimate tragedy.
On a personal note, I've never enjoyed the ending of The Pit and The Pendulum… until One Man Poe. The creative choices in the lethargy of performance and delicately optimistic lighting left me greatly satisfied.
This is an earnestly masterful production: a great homage to the works of Poe and a
thoroughly well-formed piece of theatre. It is a must-see (at your peril).
Note - The two sets of two plays can be seen as a double bill or patrons may opt to see just one pair.
