Grisly Tales is based on Bruno Vincent’s novel of the same title and is directed by Caroline Horton who performed ‘You’re Not Like the Other Girls Chrissy’ which toured to rural villages in the north earlier this year.
This is a good storytelling piece. In a nutshell, the story is about Orphan, Daniel Dory who sets out to rainy and strangely sinister Tumblewater in search of his long lost sister. We follow his adventures as he comes up against Tumblewater’s evil landowner and a witch.
If you’re performing a one-man show, you’ve got to be good and actor Edward Jaspers is. On stage with just a step ladder, a bag and top hat, he convincingly inhabits all the strange characters of Tumblewater and gives a very physical performance – complete with flying sweat. (more a feature of the attic venue than the show itself)
Although this is a dark tale, its not gruesome or grisly though I did wince at the bit about the fate of a baby who was mistaken for a loaf of bread. The show features some quirky songs sung live to the accompaniment of mandolin and the shows humour, its audience interactions and Edward’s likeability stop it feeling too dark.
With little to focus on other than the story itself, younger audience members may struggle a bit but I saw this show with a mixed audience that included many teenagers and they were all gripped from start to finish. I could definitely see this show working in village venues though running time only 1hour.
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