The theatre itself was small and cosy - it felt old and crooked in quite an endearing way. Our seats were perfect - towards the front of the stalls at the edge of the aisle. As we arrived with some time to spare, we perused the drinks menu and settled on a Belvedere Lemon Tonic cocktail. The drinks were absolutely enormous and definitely the reason so many people got up needing the toilet later during the show. Despite the cost (£9 per drink) I really enjoyed our cocktail; it was sharp and refreshing.
So we took our seats, drinks in hand, and the show began. The entire performance lasted 1 hour 45 minutes; no interval. I thought it was a perfect length. It might have become slightly boring and repetitive had it gone on any longer than 2 hours. At the start there was some excitement with the actors coming into the audience - something I wish they had revisited more throughout the play.
The tale of Arthur Kipps was told through a 'play within a play'. The vast majority was just two actors on stage - one playing Kipps, and the other playing an actor playing Kipps. This set up worked ingeniously because you got both the past events that occurred, and then the present-day Kipps revealing more information or feelings about what happened. The actors were phenomenal, especially Terence Wilton, who had to play an array of different characters.
Never before has dry ice been so effective. The eerie marsh mist is a significant part of the story and the thick smoke created a creepy and sinister atmosphere on and around the stage. I jumped out of my seat several times. I'm glad I did - I didn't go and watch a ghost story to be completely at ease!
