The Haunting

The Haunting. Written by Hugh Janes. 

For anybody who knows me well, I am a bit of a geek when it comes to gothic ghost stories. When I first heard Oldbury Rep were putting on The Haunting by Hugh Janes I was eagerly looking forward to it for months.

It was a play I had not seen, but I had read it. Knowing most of Charles Dickens' work it accidentally made itself known when I was just finishing reading the great M.R James’ ghost collection for the umpteenth time in front of a wood fire with a glass of my best whisky. Some may say, it was a supernatural experience how a copy of this script appeared in my possession.

The Haunting is based on some of Charles Dicken's ghost stories and it tells a story of a character called David Filde who is an antique book dealer. David hits the jackpot when he visits Lord Gray's mansion, he has been employed to catalogue some of the extremely rare volumes in the library. However, things start to get a little bit odd with books flying off shelves, wailing throughout the night and the appearance of a ghostly figure in a torn wedding dress. 

As with most 19th century ghost stories, they usually have a wonderful structure introducing every day characters who find themselves in every day scenarios. The gorgeous language helps set the atmosphere, but also adds to the feeling of suggestion. If the character/reader experiences something that is not explained, the mind might start to play tricks on you, it is these experiences which are often the most effective because your mind is left to fill the gaps. 

The character of David Filde was played by actor Ash Lynch who had a great presence and skill at being a story teller. He was clear in diction and led the story very successfully at a nice pace. Lord Gray was played by Lee Morgan-Salcome who also had some nice presence, remained clear in his diction and was a nice contrast by being quite cynical towards David. Lord Gray was most definitely a sceptic at the start, but he certainly changed his mind when he started to experience the unexplained towards the finale.

Ash Lynch and Lee Morgan-Salcome worked really, really well together. There were points in the story where the narration was enough, pure and simple; both actors knew not to distract from the storytelling and held composure. The majority of time the dialogue was delivered well and the two lead actors worked incredibly hard on the stage and they engaged and owned their space. They held the stage for over 2 hours with a concentration and intensity which hardly faltered. The stage was used very well when the action starting to ramp up. With most plays of this nature leading to the finale, I was really looking forward to the possibility of absolute carnage with set pieces breaking or furniture flying and smashing against the wall building up to a loud conclusion. There are of course some limitations with practical stage special effects which I understand, but the feeling (or suggestion) of wanting it to happen was still there. 

There was some nice tension building moments when the pauses were used effectively and the timing was considered in certain scenes. The tone was lost a little in the second act but it soon picked up again when the sound and lights helped bring the atmosphere to the audiences attention again and there were a couple of nice ghostly surprises which ramped up the suspense. 

Alan Wood directed this production and obviously took great care in creating the mood which was incredibly important to get right. The set was wonderful with all the action taking place in a classic room in a huge mansion. There was some nice attention to detail, again i must mention the lights and sound which effectively helped to set the mood nicely. There were some wonderful layers throughout and the best classic sinister sounds you would associate with a story of this kind, such as thunder, the whistling wind through the trees and an owl hooting. The set felt cold which was a great achievement and the actors also helped by achieving this illusion with some little touches of their own. 

The Ghost played by Lucy Poulson was really fantastic. The Ghost appeared at points in the play which were genuinely unsettling and at times there was an air of unpredictability with these appearances which added to the fun. There were some genuinely shocked audience members tonight who literally jumped out of their seats and this was exactly the response that needed to be achieved.

This was a wonderfully fun and entertaining evening and well done everybody for creating the great mood and atmosphere. Congratulations again.

Many thanks to Karen Walker for your hospitality tonight and thank you to Oldbury Rep for inviting me.

Coming soon from Oldbury Rep, is the production “Kes”, showing 14th-17th June 2023, followed by “Nell Gwynn” on 8th-15th July 2023. Box Office number for all enquires is 0121 552 2761 or see oldburyrep.org for more details.

I wish you all the very best for the future.

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