All fans of the occult know any horror story is only as good as its retelling. Pre-dating the written word, we’ve been spinning stories of spooks and spirits for thousands of years. Love them or loathe them, there is something about a story of the supernatural that we simply cannot tear our eyes or ears away from.
The Mill at Sonning’s latest offering provides exactly this, as ‘The Shadow in the Mirror’ has all the trappings of the perfect gothic horror story. We have a protagonist haunted by the whisper of something we can not yet comprehend, a life-or-death deadline ticking ever closer, and a production that could have been designed by the master of macabre himself, Edgar Allen Poe.
But this is no Poe creation. It is an adaptation of Gerald Durrell’s short story, ‘The Entrance’ and a far cry from the stories of pastoral bliss the author of ‘My Family and Other Animals’ is so well known and loved for. Adapted and directed by Dugald Bruce-Lockhart specially for The Mill at Sonning, ‘The Shadow in the Mirror’ pays homage to those oral traditions of the great horror stories.
Our protagonist is an antiquarian bookseller and expert in rare books, who – despite being warned away from accepting it by a peer – is given a career-defining task. He is commissioned to catalogue the library of a recently deceased French Marquis in his remote chateau one winter with no-one for company except some animals. What could possibly go wrong? Well, without wanting to give too much away, the answer is… a lot!
Nick Waring delivers an absolute powerhouse performance as Peter Letting, hardly leaving the stage as our hero desperately trying to document his misadventures before time runs out. His retelling of the story’s ghoulish climax in particular reached gargantuan levels of performance. George Dillon as John the Jailer is deliciously dark as both witness and narrator, there to share the retelling of Peter’s internal thoughts and fears. Gregg Lowe and Giles Taylor both have a handful of roles, but each delivers a razor-sharp performance, with Lowe’s depiction of the ill-fated Gideon De Teildras Villeray (great name!) and Taylor’s audience-addressing prosecutor especially standing out.
With just a cast of four, it would have been easy for The Mill at Sonning to go small-scale on the production values for this show. But they have thrown everything at it (what a treat to see a double-height set on this beautiful little stage!). Diego Pitarch’s set design is a feast for the eyes, moving from a gloomy prison cell in Marseille (complete with dripping soundscale) to a gothic manor house nestled among the craggy mountains of central France. Costume, set, props, sound and lighting all combine to create atmosphere in abundance. Not to mention the special effects, which I won’t spoil for you, but rather implore you to go witness for yourself.
Part gothic horror, part whodunnit, ‘The Shadow in The Mirror’ is every bit the full package for a spooky night at the theatre. Get yourself a ticket to this treat (not trick) of a show that will herald in the autumn, the clocks going back, and the nights growing ever darker… Just watch out for the mirrors…
‘The Shadow in the Mirror’ runs at The Mill at Sonning until Saturday 8 November. Tickets include a two-course meal in the restaurant before the show (unless otherwise specified) and can be purchased at https://millatsonning.com/Events/the-shadow-in-the-mirror/
