***** (5 stars)
“Gripping”
Congratulations, Noel and Antonia, that was brilliant!
I have to confess that I was somewhat apprehensive when I saw what Box Tale Soup were offering this year…. They scared me almost witless with a chillingly effective 1984 last year from which it took several hours to recover!
When I saw the show’s title and realised that this year’s offering would be drawn from the works of Edgar Allen Poe, I knew that those of you who love to be horrified and/ or terrified would be in for a treat. I well remember as a teenager being terrified by chilling movies from the Universal Studios’ black and white series of Poe adaptations. I feared I might have to bring along a cluster of cuddly toys to see me through the show…
Fear not, gentle reader: I emerged in one piece, and not so severely traumatised that I couldn’t go about my Fringely business afterwards… <Phew>. As with most of Poe, the chill effect comes in the mind, and after the event: I’m sure the themes that run through the show will continue to occupy me, though hopefully in daylight hours rather than the wee small hours of the night!
Box Tale Soup have done it yet again, producing a show which focuses on the author’s text, brings it to vivid life and invites one to engage with the work itself as soon as possible. Even with some intermittent bodymike problems, the audience was gripped. There were obviously some Poe aficionados in the audience – the reference to the orangutan brought some knowing reaction, and the raven’s quothing was also very familiar.
In this show, rather than sticking to one narrative we are treated to what seems to begin as a lecture about Poe, a discussion of his writings and the ways in which they draw the reader in from the author’s very first words. The tell-tale heart plunges straight into the mind of a madman who insists that he is sane, even while we doubt his veracity.
This alone would be a masterly piece of storytelling, with some really inventive puppetry and scenery – but almost immediately we become aware that all is not well with the lecturer/ storyteller. Can he hear the unearthly song? Can he see the black-clad figure singing a heartrending lament? What is preying on his mind as he keeps losing the thread of his lecture? To whom does he keep protesting that he hasn’t forgotten?
By the end of the show we have heard some of Poe’s poetry and visited a remarkable number of his stories, some of which I knew, some of which I thought I knew but didn’t, and some which were completely new to me. There’s some wonderful original music from Dan Melrose, hauntingly sung by Antonia as part of an inventive soundscape and accompanied by superbly atmospheric lighting.
Above all we have Box Tale Soup’s consistently inspired use of recycled and reclaimed materials to create their exceptionally versatile puppets, costumes, set, and props, and a wonderful choreography as Neil and Antonia weave their way around, among, and through it all to create the magic that they do so well. I particularly loved long walk through the catacombs and the seemingly unending glass of Medoc, while Ligiea herself was bewitchingly memorable, and the Ligeia/Rowena transformation ingeniously managed.
Guilt, revenge, loss: all these surface again and again in Poe’s writings – and he writes so graphically, with such a masterly understanding of all these emotions and motivations. We are frequently reminded that there are 26 different theories about the cause of his death in 1849, with the implication that any or all of the above could have been the cause…. There’s a lot to ponder in this show, a lot that will continue to haunt me [though blessedly I hope not to lose any sleep over it!] and so much to admire and applaud in this latest fabulous creation from Box Tale Soup.
Will we forget A Ghost Among The Living? Nevermore!
Hurry and get your tickets now! The first ‘night’ audience was very good for a Fringe show and word of mouth will only serve to make the tickets increasingly sought after…
A Ghost Among the Living, Pleasance Dome (Queen Dome) Venue 23 runs until 31st August for more information go to: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/a-ghost-among-the-living
ScotsGay Arts 