Our review at seattleactor: The Night Mare (In a House of Dark Dreams) Mothership Ensemble Blue Lake, CA This inventive, compelling drama begins as a rather conventional, gothic narrative but soon makes it clear that this is a contemporary story that is equally creepy and timeless. The storyline itself is actually quite simple, a young couple wants to have children. After a tragic miscarriage and the bleak burial of the fetus, the woman is informed that the chances are "negligible" that she will ever be able to carry a child to term. Nonetheless, they continue to try with each failure burning ever more deeply into their souls. The writing is quite good, but what makes this show outstanding is the imaginative and powerfully effective use of dramatic choreography, theatrically-based movement, to express what mere words (poetic as they are) can only suggest. The production was created by the ensemble so all of them must get equal credit for the vivid storytelling and affecting depth of the performance. Janessa Johnsrude, as the desperately unsatisfied mother-in-waiting, must be specifically appreciated for the passion and conviction she brought to the character. As her partner, the male performer is not credited with the role, but he certainly brought balance to the drama. When she is ultimately consumed by the fierce flames of her obsession, this woman has convinced us that there is nothing else in the world worth living for than this thing that she has been repeatedly, brutally denied. I thought this was just going to be another "ghost story" or a scary venture into the dark, back aisles of dramatic fiction. Instead, it was a fiercely immediate and staggering scream of terror and fear, that sort that is found in the most commonplace of human experiences, in the darkest chambers of the human heart.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 17:23:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015