THE BLACK CAT (Threedumb Theatre/The Space)****

  

By Cal 

Link: https://space.org.uk/event/the-black-cat-livestream 

Available until: Livestreams 25^th and 26^th March at 8.30pm.

Warning: This show contains scenes of horror and violence (including towards animals) which some viewers may find disturbing.

Throughout lockdown, theatre companies have experimented with various different ways of telling a story. Most have gone with the tried and traditional way of acting out a script. It’s a format that works and I don’t think it’ll get old anytime soon. There have also been online readings of stories with actors as the narrators.

The Black Cat is somewhere between the two. Edgar Allan Poe’s creepy short story is read aloud by Stephen Smith, but he also acts it. We see him moving around the space and interacting with his wife, and telling the whole story as he does it.

It works really well. It’s Edgar Allan Poe so obviously it’s a great story, if not a very nice one. Although we don’t actually have to watch what the main character does, a lot of people would prefer not even to hear about it and that’s completely reasonable.

The filming is a bit shaky, but I would guess that’s intentional, to reflect the main character’s state of mind. It doesn’t distort the picture or make the film difficult to watch. The camera follows Stephen around The Space, letting us experience each creepy moment with him. Any anyone who’s seen The Mousetrap (or just read the actual words of the nursery rhyme) will know what a disturbing song ‘Three Blind Mice’ is. The other piece of music used (I know what it is, but I won’t ruin the surprise) is also very atmospheric.

The technical demands of this play are huge. Performing in a play is not as easy as it looks and this one requires the actor to walk around all over the venue, followed by a camera, and tell a whole story. Threedum Theatre have done really well to put this all together and perform it live. Stephen also directs the piece and there are some great shots and a really strong sense of atmosphere.

Stephen tells the story brilliantly. He’s always in character and he expresses the character’s changing emotions so well. He’s very likeable at the start and even though he does terrible things, you do kind of get caught up in hoping it might somehow work out, even though you know that’s unlikely… though you never quite know with tales of the supernatural. Michaela Bennison makes brief appearances as the character’s lovely wife – lovely, innocent, and soon as irrevocably caught up in the horror as he is.

If you don’t think this play is for you, maybe give this one a miss – but make a note of the Threedumb Theatre. Judging from this show, they are a very inventive theatre company who put on high-quality productions so maybe their next play will be more your sort of thing. If you think you can handle it, then you should watch it because it’s a great production.