Tired of city living? Considering a move to the countryside?
Here’s a real estate tip: don’t EVER relocate to a place described as a
“sleepy” hamlet, village or town, clearly code for “place where people die
horrible, inexplicable deaths”! This is certainly the case for the “sleepy
hamlet” of Huntersville where the yokels are dropping like Sandra Bullock in a
Chinese space capsule.
Fortunately, local priest Hank Grimby is merely mauled… oh,
hang on a second! He survives only to become, unbeknownst to himself and the town, a
werewolf…
I must confess the werewolf myth fascinates me and is a
story arc I use in my own writing to explore the theme of transformation in
various ways. In a werewolf tale someone gets ‘bitten’, undergoes a transformation
they cannot control, and invariably hurt the ones they love most with tragic
consequences. Here, writer-director-producer Levon Polinelli has chosen that
someone to be a man of God thereby adding a layer of irony – a symbol of
goodness is doomed to commit evil acts most foul every full moon.
But our priest, Hank Grimby (Sven Ironside), is not without
sin. He is secretly in love with the Mayor’s daughter (Siobhan Dow-Hall) who is
unexpectedly betrothed to renowned explorer (at least in his own mind) George
Waggner (Magnus Danger Magnus) who is shortly to arrive in Huntersville. As the
death toll mounts, Waggner goes all Quint on the townspeople and promises to
kill the beast much to Grimby’s discomfort once he discovers he is in fact said
beast. As Grimby frantically searches for a cure to Lycanthropy – announced by the town Doctor (Stephen Lee) to
be a potion made from a rare flower – Waggner appeals to the
Mayor (AJ Lowe) to unleash his sense of vengeance. Unwitting patsy, Tomas
(Daniel Buckle), aids Waggner in his quest for glory.
What to make of this strange beast? Part musical, part
melodrama, part comedy, part horror, it is a quirky hybrid that somehow manages
to work despite its disparate parts.
Melodrama infuses the forbidden love story between priest
and the mayor’s daughter. Already an illicit liaison, the announcement that the
Mayor has chosen a husband for his daughter – and asked Grimby to perform the
marriage ceremony no less – adds to Grimby’s lament. There are strong moments
between the two lovers with Dow-Hall an earnest and tender presence with a
lovely singing voice.
The comedy comes courtesy of a larger-than-life Waggner
played in scene chewing fashion by Magnus, colourful costume, knife fetish, and
all. Lee’s Teutonic doctor also adds plenty of humour with his ‘autopsy’ of a
victim a delight.
The original songs and music are strong but this felt more
like a play with songs rather than a fully formed musical. There seemed to be
the opportunity to have different types of songs assigned to more characters.
Waggner’s tall tales about his travels to far flung places such as Patagonia
felt ripe for such a treatment as did either the Doctor’s autopsy scene or when he
is making his potions. Indeed, Lee ad libs an excerpt from The Skeleton Song at
the beginning of the latter scene. Grimby’s songs are mainly of the unrequited
love or unsurpassed guilt variety with a ghostly duet early in the second act a
highlight. Waggner’s musical pitch to the townsfolk to kill the beast was also
memorable.
The horror comes via the deaths of various townsfolk
(including Rhianna Hall and Tiffany Swan) and the arrival on stage of the fearsome werewolf. A lot of time and effort is spent setting an ominous mood with the
use of lighting, smoke, music cues, and sound effects. It all ends in a
climatic final battle that is equal parts high energy and high camp.
This is another quirk of Werewolf Priest – the tone tends to
swing wildly. Talking to members of the cast afterwards, they pointed to a
particular scene where the audience laugh in the first act and, in their words,
suddenly realise that this is funny. This initial uncertainty may be due to the
different genres being deployed and the range of acting from over-the-top
theatricality to earnest melodrama. Ironside works hard in the title role but
others have far showier parts with him the anchor for their antics.
It’s an enjoyable production with plenty of twists and
surprises but somehow it feels like it should be bigger, more over the top,
with more songs and more, well, werewolf, damn it! It will be interesting to
see if it develops into this over time as it has a clear filmic influence in
both staging and content with the small Blue Room stage barely able to contain
Polinelli’s wild ambition.
Written and directed by Levon Polinelli with Ash Gibson
Greig as composer, Werewolf Priest! The Lamentable Ballad of Hank Grimby is on
at the Blue Room until 7 June, featuring Sven Ironside, Siobhan Dow-Hall, Magnus
Danger Magnus, Stephen Lee, Adrian Lowe, Daniel Buckle, Rhianna Hall, Tiffany
Swan and Ayden Doherty.
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