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When a young actor is engaged to impersonate a ghost strolling around the grounds of a stately home, he is told that he has been hired to amuse the owner’s nieces. It soon becomes clear, however, that nothing is quite what it first appears. Tim Foley’s supernatural tale is full of twists, and this confident production delivers them with flair. Sound and projection are used imaginatively to generate the expected shivers, while Neil Bettle’s design makes striking use of the space, conjuring an atmosphere thick with suggestion. Paragon House is full of secrets, and the staging beautifully establishes its engaging sense of haunted mystery. The piece unfolds essentially as a short story recounted by its protagonist, and the burden of drawing the audience in rests almost entirely on a single performer. George Naylor plays Joe, an aspiring writer/actor hired to circle the grounds of the grand house whose doors remain firmly closed to him. Naylor’s performance is articulate and strongly projected, sustaining a sense of drama throughout. However, the delivery sometimes feels more declamatory than conversational. Telling a good ghost story thrives on tonal shifts, such as the conspiratorial whisper that draws the audience closer to the darkness, and those variations are generally missing here. While there are flashes of humour and moments of theatrical energy, the performance rarely settles into the eerie intimacy that the genre requires. Although the narrative hints at themes of class division with the working-class outsider endlessly circling a grand residence which he is never permitted to enter, this idea remains largely undeveloped. In fact, as the plot gathers complexity, the accumulation of twists makes the storyline increasingly difficult to follow. By the time the piece concludes, with all the various revelations and a metatheatrical coda, it would not be surprising if some audience members find themselves struggling to keep track of exactly what has happened. Even so, It Walks Around The House At Night remains an atmospheric and often entertaining piece. It captures much of the flavour of a traditional ghost story and delivers the occasional genuine frisson. Indeed, as we leave the theatre and Joe apparently returns to his ordinary life, the uneasy thought remains that perhaps the night is not finished with him, nor with us.
Rated: ★★★★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
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