Gothic Horror brought to spine chilling life

Image courtesy of the artist.

One Man Poe at the Albany Theatre, Saturday 10 May. Performed and directed by Stephen Smith.

Review by Annette Kinsella.

Being a child of the 70s (AKA The Haunted Generation) I am fascinated by tales of terror and the macabre. Whether it was the effect of growing up in the shadow of a nuclear bomb, public information films where death and destruction lurked around every corner on constant rotation, or even just constant exposure to Scooby Doo, there’s no doubt that people of my vintage are often drawn to the ghoulish and chilling. Which is why I was delighted to review One Man Poe at the Albany Theatre.

Telltale hearts and sinister ravens may seem incongruous with a summery May evening, but actor Stephen Smith conjured Poe’s trademark murder, madness and morbidity with aplomb during the two-hour show.

Smith kicked off the action with The Tell Tale Heart, where the thudding pulse of a murder victim’s heart torments the killer into a confession. There’s no spoilers as we all know the story but Smith, alone on the stage in the guise of the haunted lunatic, brought a force to his performance which gave the story fresh intensity.

Concluding Act One was The Pit and The Pendulum, where Poe’s protagonist finds himself in a grim conundrum worthy of a modern-day Squid Games or Saw scriptwriter. Having fallen foul of the Spanish Inquisition, he finds himself in a pitch-black chamber containing a bottomless pit and later, a razor-sharp pendulum slowly swinging lower, set to slice him to pieces. His escape, involving highly-seasoned meats, ravenous rats and innovative nerve, is straight out of the pages of James Bond. But despite the bizarre plot twists, Smith’s prowess in conveying horror is evident as he brings the damp walls and the fungus-laced floor to life.

Act Two begins with my personal favourite vignette of the evening, The Black Cat. Centring on a demonic cat and an ordinary man overtaken by his own impulses, the action reads like a Gothic Pet Sematary. So far, so Stephen King. Finally Smith wraps up with probably the most famous of Poe’s writing – the Raven, which Smith recounts in nightcap and gown by flickering candlelight.

There are moments when Poe’s hyperbolic stories may not land with modern viewers. That said, it did not bother the Albany audience, who treated Smith to a standing ovation. And very richly deserved – he delivered a finely-tuned and genuinely creepy show alone on stage, giving Poe an up-to-date twist. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Catch One Man Poe at the Edinburgh Fringe this August.

See what’s next at the Albany Theatre, Coventry: https://www.albanytheatre.co.uk/shows