Welcome!
Very mild Spoilers!
I did something I haven't done in many years. Visited the theatre to watch a play. I'm not usually one for watching theatre productions but I feel after watching the fantastic and eerie Haunting of Blaine Manor I will make the effort to go more often and support the theatre and arts.
A few weeks ago on the bus home with my daughter we saw an advert for The Haunting of Blaine Manor. We were intrigued and as October is spooky season looked into it and booked. The trailer for the play hooked me straight away.
The story, set in 1953, follows Doctor Roy Earle (played by Peter Slater), a sceptic of the paranormal and debunker. He's been invited by the owner of Blaine Manor, Mister Tyler to attend a seance and prove the house isn't haunted.
The séance is held by Cairo (played by Andrew Yates). A renowned mind reader and spiritualist.
Other guest include Vivian Rutledge (played by Jo Haydock). A well known reporter. Vincent De Lambre (played by Ed Barry). The lawyer of Mister Tyler.
There is also Adolphus Scarabus (played by Jimmy Allen). An eccentric Psychic medium.
Lastly there is Grady (played by Joe O'Byrne). He's the mysterious butler of the house.
The characters give their back stories as they unravel the mystery of the missing owner Mister Tyler and whether the house is really haunted and by what.
Overall - A fantastic production, with a story that kept you engaged all the way through. With relevations about the characters throughout and twist and turns including a twist at the end I didn't see coming.
With theatre, it's more about character than spectacle unlike most films at the cinema and it was a credit to the writing and acting that kept you watching. Although there were some scares due to lighting and sound at the right moments.
The story of the house and characters felt real with some good back stories and Joe O'Byrne who not only played the butler Grady but also wrote and directed it did a splendid job of all three.
You can see what influences he had. From old ghost stories by Edgar Allan Poe and Hammer horror. There was also some humour in there, that reminded me of The League of Gentlemen TV series. They too were inspired by classic horror.
The acting was spot on from all the cast including Joe O'Byrne.
The characters on stage the most were Peter Slater as Roy Earle and Jo Haydock as Vivian Rutledge and they held everything together well and didn't miss a beat.
A favourite character of mine was Andrew Yates as Cairo. He looked like Richard O'Brien from the Crystal Maze but sounded like Londo from Babylon 5.
Jimmy Allen as Adolphus Scarabus was fun to watch too chasing around invisible spooks.
Ed Barry as Vincent De Lambre was great too with a more serious tone.
Credit goes to the rest of the Blaine Manor crew for lighting and sound. Although the first five minutes were hard to hear but I think it was just us adjusting to listening to a stage performance.
The staff of the Victoria Theatre were great at their roles and friendly.
A sign that we enjoyed the show was that it went fast. Too fast. With two 50 minute acts, they only felt like 15 minutes each and we wanted more.
Joe even came out at the end and thanked the audience and staff which was nice.
I would definitely watch anything the Blaine Manor team create next and wish them great success with the spooky, twisty tale.
Only gripe is drinking lager from what looked like a gravy jug.
Bels Score - 10/10
My Score - 10/10
Neil x
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