The traditional meets the modern with this entrancing and disturbing series of spooky stories that span East Anglia.
Although titled by candlelight the performance at St George’s Theatre in Great Yarmouth opens with the three performers assembling on a stage littered with electric candles, lamps, and coloured bulbs, but a suitably unnerving atmosphere is soon conjured by Loren O’Dair’s voice and plucked violin.
Her song – written by Georgia Shackleton- sets the scene for three pieces, with a peregrine racing the clanging clock of Ely Cathedral to prevent a curse taking hold across the region.
Its flight takes it to Lowestoft for Nicola Werenowska’s The Beach Hut, into the Essex countryside for Samsher Sinha’s Sacrifice, and to county’s urban sprawl for Kelly Jones’ Run.
The stories are told by performers Katie Cherry and Elizabeth Crarer, subtly changing costume between various all-white ensembles, and controlling flickering lights and shadow puppetry.
The region’s notoriously tricky accents aren’t always quite right, but these are strong and captivating performances, particularly Cherry in Run, mixing the fear of being a young women in today’s world with a haunting in a brutally funny piece.
Across the 70 minutes there are plenty of twists and surprises and even as the peregrine completes its quest and save us for another day, we are reminded that there are plenty of horrors remaining the world – many of our own making.
Director Elayce Ismail has pulled together a simple but stunning production and – while I’d quibble at the candlelight – these are worthy additions to the canon of East Anglian folklore.
- Tour dates include Sheringham Little Theatre on November 4; Wingfield Barns, Diss on November 8; Wells Maltings, Wells Next The Sea on November 9; The Froize, Chilesford on November 10; Kings Head, Woodbridge on November 11; The Station, Framlingham on November 12; and Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Shakespeare’s Globe, London, November 23 to 25. More details on the High Tide website.
