A night in the cemetery
- 6 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Theatrical company Don’t Go Into The Cellar presented Scotland Yard Investigates at the unique venue of the Anglican Church in London Road Cemetery, last night 28 February. Written and performed by Jonathan Goodwin with technical direction by Gary Archer.
Review by Ann Evans
Lamplight illuminated the pathways leading to the imposing Anglican church set amongst the ancient gravestones of the cemetery, while inside this church built in 1847 a surprisingly pleasant welcome awaited you with tea, coffee, biscuits and wine. But without a doubt there was an atmosphere of anticipation regarding the evening ahead with this one man’s retelling of true horrific murders from late Victorian times.
Jonathan Goodwin is the man behind the sinister all black 19th century clothing who walked confidently through the church to the stage – or rather onto the altar, to greet his audience. He introduced himself as Old Joe, a Londoner from the Whitechapel area. There were no props, no scenery, simply a single light angled to give him a distinctly sinister appearance and the ominous sounds of a thunderstorm and torrential rain. Immediately we were transported back to the shadowy, cobbled streets of London in the days of Jack the Ripper and the Thames Torso Murders.
Old Joe knew all the stories, which he described in chilling detail, his intense gaze focusing on individual members of the audience, as if they might be next to fall victim to Jack or one of the other nefarious characters he introduced us to. As the night progressed, simple changes such as the removal of his black gloves and overcoat or donning spectacles or walking with a cane, brought forward other sinister characters from the past, including the murderers themselves.
Jonathan Goodwin is a master of character creation, not faltering in his gripping storytelling; a change of voice and accent, a different stance, a more sinister way of capturing you in his gaze, succeeded in sending chills down the spine or ripples of nervous laughter through the audience.
An entertaining and suspenseful evening’s entertainment as we got to meet some sinister and bloodthirsty villains from Victorian times such as Dr Thomas Neill Cream, the Lambeth Poisoner serial killer – who picked out a member of the audience who happened to cough and kindly offered them a dose of his specially mixed cough medicine. He declined! And then there was Henry Wainwright – a respected businessman, who spoke to us from beyond the gallows about his evil activities.
Jonathan Goodwin created Don’t Go Into the Cellar in 2010 - a Midlands-based theatrical company focusing on late Victorian and Edwardian times with all its famous and infamous characters of the day. Jonathan has been fascinated with those eras all his life. He recalls reading The Hound of the Baskervilles when he was about six years old. And he has long been fascinated with the black and white movies of Sherlock Holmes and Hammer Horror, with great admiration for Peter Cushing, Boris Karloff and the like.
Jonathan is assisted behind the scenes by Don’t Go into the Cellar’s Technical Director Gary Archer, who is responsible for the lighting, the sound, the stage management and the multiple tasks involved in presenting the shows.
This was an altogether different and highly entertaining evening and an excellent performance by Jonathan Goodwin. He will be back at the Anglican church in London Road cemetery on 27 March bringing with him Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. But before then – and throughout the year there are regular shows around the country, dates and venues are all listed on the Don’t Go into the Cellar website. There are even free to watch online performances. This master of disguises gives us a choice of many different evenings and experiences ranging from Toad of Toad Hall to The First Men In The Moon, all delivered with their own unique style of the macabre.
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