This review has been taken from my NSDF blog, written for the Peter de Haan Charitable Trust.
Bad House tells an intriguing and chilling tale through the eyes, or indeed eye, of a ghastly village publican. These dark narratives all culminate with some gruesome climax of drowned brides and children burnt alive and are told with real gusto by the ensemble. The star performer is the Landlord (Tom Gill) who for the first 15 minutes is the only member of the strong cast to speak and who holds an audience captivated with his yarns whilst still unselfishly supporting the rest of the troupe with his grunts and yaps. Musician David Ramsey also adds to the overall feel of despair and dread with his atmospheric accompaniment on violin and accordion. Bad House impressed most through the quality of the writing from Adam Z. Robinson and Lucy Arnold which had real style, great visual qualities which is essential for fringe theatre like this, and a rough texture fitting with their performance environment of a dilapidated rural pub. Some of the technical elements of the performance, whilst not letting the piece down, over-complicated a show whose appeal was earthy, non-urban and with a deep, dark and sinister underbelly. Bad House was an excellent piece of writing and sets the bar way high for the rest of the festival.
Bad House: ***
Image courtesy of Theatregroup.wordpress.
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