Nightfall

As a fan of gothic fiction, and also of new or unusual material on stage, I had been looking forward to Phoenix Players’ latest production.  Badged as ‘four gothic tales, one dark night’, Nightfall features four Edgar Allan Poe stories, adapted for the stage by Eric Coble and directed by Adam Clarke.  The tales were loosely linked by shared characters, and there was a neat conclusion as the final story ended with a patient being carted off to the asylum, cleverly linking back to the opening of the show.   

Arriving in the Bear Pit, we were greeted with a suitably spooky set featuring stained white sheets, a bookcase of dusty tomes, candles, and the inevitable skull!  Items of furniture were slashed with blood-red stains, setting a nicely gory atmosphere.  This was further enhanced by the doom laden music and murky lighting, well chosen to put us all on edge.  Sound effects were also important in delivering these stories, and these were generally effective, although some were cut off rather abruptly, which restricted their impact somewhat. 

We were ushered in to Poe’s world by four ‘shadow people’ who swept menacingly about the stage.  Dressed all in black, and wearing Kabuki-style masks, they really enhanced the feel of the show whenever they were onstage, providing a genuinely spooky edge.  It was a great idea to have them also manipulating the scenery (and, by implication, the characters), which meant that the stories could flow much more effectively.  I particularly liked the fluid movements, which amplified the otherworldly nature of some of these shadow folk.

The first story was actually a poem, ‘The Raven’ – a tricky task to present on stage but the splitting of the lines amongst the characters worked well, especially as the refrain ‘Quoth the Raven’ was passed from person to person.  The conclusion was perhaps a bit hurried – I think a heart was extracted but it was all over so quickly it was hard to be sure!  Nick Johnson effectively showed us the mounting terror in the narrator of this story, and Juliet Haines-Currie really brought out the gothic in her portrayal the first of two doomed maidens.  The Raven itself was most effectively portrayed by Bill Welsh, in his first outing for the Players.

There was a nice link to the next story, as the character of Edgar (Baz Stilinski) escorted us in to ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’.  This one had quite an old school, Hammer horror feel to it, as Usher descended into madness and his world literally came crashing down around him.  Philip Leigh effectively channelled Vincent Price as the eponymous Usher, in an all-guns blazing performance.  I particularly liked the scene in the crypt, which was well executed to generate an unsettling atmosphere.

The second half began with ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’, which featured a novel theatrical device in which the narrating character was split in two, with one version narrating the story off stage and the other acting it out, largely in dumbshow.  This was an interesting idea, well implemented by Andi Hardy, who used her physicality well to demonstrate Sante’s plight.  There were moments in this story where I wasn’t sure whether we were expected to laugh or scream, such as when the oversized rats appeared (although I must say that the moment when they attacked the supine Sante was actually quite chilling.)

Finally, we came to ‘The Tell Tale Heart’, one of my favourite Poe stories, which saw Nick Johnson’s narrator menace Chris Leonard’s Old Man (the character sporting an actual vulture’s eye, complete with feathers, in a physical manifestation of Poe’s description), only to end up haunted himself.  This story featured good use of silhouettes to tell parts of the story (mainly the more gory parts!) – a very effective option which also refreshed the presentation.  I did wonder whether the narrator might have been a bit less murderous to begin with – sometimes a normal-guy blandness can add an edge to this sort of tale.  But the heartbeat sound was well done, and Poe’s mounting paranoia was clearly evoked.

There was a good selection of costumes on display, suitable to the period but with a bit of a steampunk edge to them, which worked well.  Make-up was also effective and not over-used, which enhanced its impact.  The lighting was similarly well done, with good use of light and shade to maintain the atmosphere.  All in all, this felt like a concerted and successful effort to achieve the vision of both Poe and Coble on stage. 

Well done to all of the performers, and to the technical and backstage teams who supported their efforts most effectively.  At a time when amateur theatre is dominated by comedies and musicals, all credit to Phoenix for trying something different – a choice which I felt paid off and came as a refreshing change.  Well done, and I’m intrigued to see what you’ve got planned for 2024! 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.