Nevermore - The Imaginary Life and Mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe

Synopsis

A musical fable for adults. A delightfully grotesque musical tale fusing the hauntingly humorous myths of Edgar Allan Poe with a chilling score, that appeals to the darker side within us all... Showcasing the Gothic dreamscape of Poe’s life, this whimsical production is at once playful and perverse, brutal and heartfelt, beautiful and enthralling. Characterised by its striking visuals, heightened physical performances, evocative text and sinister music, Nevermore is homage to an iconic misfit whose work has developed a cult following.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 7 July 2010

Co-presented with LIFT 2010, this visiting Canadian production purports to relate “the imaginary life and mysterious death of Edgar Allen Poe” which might imply some sort of interaction between biographical detail and the gothic rodomontade of Poe’s prose and poetry.

On a superficial level, that is the case, though most of director Jonathan Christenson’s text is banal doggerel of his own devising, and the seven performers of Catalyst Theatre (based in Edmonton, Alberta) carry on like commedia dell’arte stereotypes, strutting and posing with more skill than passion, or indeed melancholic misery.

The main weakness of the show stems from its canned presentation: everything on the soundtrack is recorded, the acting arranged to fit in, the microphoning indifferent, the singing arch, so that an alienating deadness spreads through the auditorium like a Poe-style plague.

From Steven Berkoff to Shunt, Poe has been over-exploited in the theatre, usua...

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Latest User Review

PE - 13 July 2010:

Also disagree with this reviewer - did they even watch the same show? Also agree the music was a bit repetitive but the actors were simply superb. Visually stunning....

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