OBSERVER: Our Monster’s Name Is Jerry
In Our Monster’s Name is Jerry, queer couple Maude (Laura Jane Turner) and Lou (Em Jevons) are desperate to conceive, enduring rounds of IVF without success.
An unexpected turn of events occurs when Maude inherits a house from a distant relative.
Eccentric next-door neighbour Barb (Amanda LaBonté) soon comes nosing around to welcome Maude and Lou to their new neighbourhood.
Lou’s reservations about the house and the weird noises she keeps hearing are initially dismissed by Maude as paranoia.
Soon enough, the house weaves a spell of psychological terror on both women, menaced by a malevolent force that seems intent on imposing suffering and destruction.
Grisly, supernatural events force Maude and Lou to confront their fears and the lingering ghosts of their past, which they have suppressed.
The hallmark of a gothic horror is the conflict between forces of evil and human protagonists inside a desolate, oppressive environment, such as a haunted house.
Savanna Wegman’s wonderfully macabre set with blood-stained, peeling wallpaper and giant, ominous swinging pendulum, cements the production within the gothic.
Sound designer Robbie Devine and composer Charlie Bowmaker’s atmospheric inclusions flesh out the creepy motif.
Thomas Roach’s lighting design works well to sharpen the eerie ambience.
There are some genuine jump scares for the audience and visual surprises throughout.
LaBonté adds excellent comic moments as Barb, generating well-timed laughs as the tension builds.
However, Amy May Nunn’s script occasionally loses its momentum.
Monster Jerry’s (Tomas Parrish) dialogue is puffed out with an extended soliloquy, slowing down the action.
Aunt Wendy (Amanda LaBonté) also seems to present too much exposition, slowing the pace as the story lifts towards its climax.
Eliminating these breaks will surely improve the sense of dread for this horror tale.
Presented at Theatre Works.
Review by Kathryn Keeble