Terror 2010: Death and Resurrection

Synopsis

Returning to Southwark Playhouse for its second year following a sold-out 2009 run, Terror 2010 sees the railway arches transformed into a chilling morgue. Four short plays spun together with magic, cabaret and other eerie oddities for the Halloween season. Country - Elaine's husband has died. But does he not live on in the memory? In the things he did? And in the things he is yet to do? In the peaceful seclusion of the country, something is stirring... The Exclusion Zone - A couple meet online and venture into the countryside, talking about seeing a horror film upon their return to the city. But real-life horror soon descends as their inhibitions unravel. Reanimator - A medical student pursues ghoulish experiments in the dark underbelly of early 20th century America. A wild romp, the action unfolds through the vivid imagination of HP Lovecraft, acknowledged by many to be the godfather of modern horror. The Unimaginable - A voice speaks from the darkness, challenging our perceptions of adult responsibility amidst the dangers that the modern world presents to our children.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 17 October 2010

Last year’s “Terror” season at Southwark Playhouse began with a punter (or a plant) being forcefully ejected; this year, the corpse on the trolley during Sarah-Louise Young’s opening song is that of another schmuck whose mobile phone went off.

There are some reasonably shiver-inducing ghoulish touches, but the programme’s not as good as last year’s, despite contributions from Mark Ravenhill, April De Angelis and Neil LaBute, and an ambitious but finally incomprehensible adaptation of some macabre resuscitation stories by American sci-fi writer H P Lovecraft.

There’s a pleasant degree of tastelessness overall, and a lovely spurt of blood when a dead rabbit, twitching back to life, is hammered on the slab. A mystery groper grabbed my leg beneath the scaffolded seating, and one or two customers are accosted in a mild manner; but it all seems a bit tame.

Ravenhill’s The Exclusion Zone has two horny gay men s...

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Latest User Review

addicted to theatre - 23 October 2010:

Starts very well and then completely gets derailed into 6th Form standard silliness. Second half a bit better but considering how atmospheric the venue is, this is a real wasted opportunity....

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