OBSERVER: The Haunting Of Spook Mansion (By Ghosts)
Parody done well can be hilarious. However, doing it well is not as simple as it looks. The play The Haunting Of Spook Mansion (By Ghosts), as the title suggests, was a send-up of the classic haunted house horror story.
Hilarious at times it unfortunately failed to maintain its early momentum and faded in the second half.
In a plot straight out of the horror playbook, noted author and professional sceptic of the supernatural, Professor Adrian Chambers, is offered half a million dollars by a devoted reader, Beth Jackson. The catch is that to earn the money he must spend a night in a house supposedly haunted by Jackson’s dead father. Chambers’ beliefs are shaken to the core as the night’s events unfold.
Written by comedy writer Michael Ward, the scene was set economically with many a gag and jokes so bad they were good.
The play’s three characters of Chambers, Jackson and Flugel, were appropriately stereotypical and the action proceeded apace. However, as the plot developed more fully the tone seemed to turn more serious, with attempts at humour misfiring or feeling jaded.
Far from jaded however were the solid performances of the seasoned professionals playing in this three-hander.
The trio consisted of Peter Houghton (playing Adrian Chambers), Emily Taheny (Beth Jackson) and Ben Russell (Flugel). The standouts though were Houghton and Taheny. The nervous tic Houghton gave Chambers and Taheny’s playing of the mandatory scene of Jackson being possessed were comedy gold.
Directed by Russell Fletcher there was a good pace to the show with scene changes well-executed.
Fletcher was given fantastic support by the production team of Sarah Tulloch (set and costumes), Jason Bovaird (lighting) and Stephen Gates (sound), who did a marvellous job of creating a suitably spooky atmosphere.
Sadly though, after a promising start, The Haunting Of Spook Mansion (By Ghosts) ran out of comedy steam and, consequently, became a less than satisfying evening’s entertainment.
Season: Until November 23
Venue: Chapel-off-Chapel, 12 Little Chapel St, Prahran
Review by Peter Murphy
Pictured: Peter Houghton (Adriuian Chambers) in The Haunting of Spook Mansion (by Ghosts)
Photo: Darren Gill