The Haunting

This chilly tale of the supernatural was just the ticket for a cold, dark December evening in the intimate surroundings of the Playhouse Theatre in Blackburn. A ghostly Dickens adaptation which was full of clever special effects and artfully worked spectral tricks which, given the intimate venue and the difficulties inherent in pulling off the wide range of theatrical sleights of hand at such close quarters, were very impressively done. Springing from the best traditions of the BBC's unfortunately discontinued - and much lamented - seasonal ghost stories, this production filled the gap nicely. As always with an Arts Club production, an appreciative audience went home with the warm, happy glow which accompanies a show of quality; the delicious mulled wine (an excellent touch) helped too!

In what is effectively a two-hander - no disrespect intended to the vital and very effective performance put in by the ghostly visitor to the stage! - the pressure on the two lead performers must have been immense: mastering the pages and pages of deliciously dark Dickensian dialogue must have taken a great deal of effort but it certainly paid off. Geoff Baron and Lukas Southern exuded a solid confidence on stage as the frosty Lord with a haunted library and the young book dealer called upon to sort through the shelves. As many of the tomes had a habit of flying off the shelves all by themselves and ghostly manifestations getting in the way of a decent day's work, the job of cataloguing the collection proved to be something of a nightmare for our beleaguered bookseller. Along with the pressure placed on the lead performers, the taxing demands placed on the technical team who had to make sure the many and various ghostly goings-on ran smoothly meant that the whole team had to be on their mettle; fortunately, this being the Arts Club, we were in safe hands. Our two heroes held the stage marvellously and drew the audience in as the mysterious tale unfolded, eventually revealing the reasons behind the haunting of the library but not before several manifestations of the ghostly lady had sent shivers down the spines of the bewildered book dealer and the initially sceptical Lord. As well as the mysterious goings-on, fortunately - rather like bursts of lightning leaping through the inky blackness of a midnight sky - there were many flashes of humour illuminating this dark mystery which were much appreciated and handled well. Without wanting to give too much away here, the ending revealed more than was expected and was an interesting conclusion to the story: that said, writing a show report on a play such as this is incredibly difficult, as revealing details of the plot and the progress of the evening's macabre doings rather spoils the fun for anyone yet to see it!

Geoff and Lukas gave solid and believable performances, clearly revelling in the chance to luxuriate in the language of Dickens and their characterisations were both exemplary, bringing their characters to life with every gesture, turn of phrase and loaded pronouncement. Neely Jillings excelled as the ghoulish spectral visitation, giving the audience the full 'Hammer Horror' treatment with her every unexpected appearance. Some very natty costumes and a well constructed set really gave the piece the requisite period feel and the background ambient soundscapes conjured up a chilly atmosphere all of its own. The various tricks and spooky happenings were worked faultlessly and there were many surprised gasps and nervous chuckles from the audience whenever a special effect surprised us. One of the most difficult things to achieve with a piece such as this is to maintain the right tone, as it's easy for an audience do get a fit of the giggles or treat the whole enterprise as ridiculous and silly if the 'feel' of the drama is mishandled or when things go slightly awry. Alison Bell and the three performers got it just right, resulting in a drama that ran along smoothly and never jarred or descended into silliness. True, there were a handful of prompts needed during the performance but given the sheer weight of dialogue, it was hardly surprising. In any case, all the prompts given were unobtrusive and got the drama flowing quickly and without fuss (I've seen plays where the prompter should have taken a bow at the end, having done more work than most of the performers!) That definitely wasn't the case here.

This was another sure fire success from the Arts Club: a great evening, quality entertainment and a society which knows how to impress with solid, well-crafted entertainment which is always different, often challenging and never less than interesting. It's always a great pleasure to visit the Arts Club and my thanks go as always to the society for making me and my guests so very welcome.

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