When Darkness Falls Review – Park Theatre
As the title alludes to When Darkness Falls is a spine-chilling ghost story showing at Park Theatre in London. Set on the small island of Guernsey, the show delves into the world of witchcraft, piracy, poltergeists and unresolved revenge. Written by James Milton and Paul Morrissey, the show stars Will Barton, Alex Phelps and even an apparition, or two.
Local history teacher, John Blondel (Barton), runs the island’s Historical Society and is planning on recording his first weekly vlog. He invites a young writer (Phelps) to be his first guest speaker as they discuss the island’s paranormal history. The writer tells Blondel five ghost stories spanning across five centuries, stories that are obliquely linked. The stories each test Blondel’s lack of belief in the supernatural, culminating in a twist I didn’t see coming.
The show takes place during the great storm of 1987 and is set in John Blondel’s office. Awaiting the arrival of his guest the office has a dark and creepy feel, heightened more so by the stormy weather. The speaker arrives dripping wet and looking fatigued from his journey and battling the elements. He is eager to tell his five gruesome stories to defiant sceptic John, many of which are based on true events. His stories include a British spy slaughtered by Nazi occupiers and a pregnant girl stabbed after witnessing her lover’s murder.
Whilst the stories are being told Will Barton steps in to act out certain parts and provide extra narrative. Unfortunately, this is not very clear at first and felt very disjointed from the show. It meant that momentarily I slipped out of the world they had created as confusion has hit me. However, as the show went on it was clearer what was happening and started to flow better. And as we came into the second half it was time for the fear factor to take centre stage.
John starts hearing things. Things suddenly fall from their perches. The lights get low and then unexpectedly go outaltogether. A tense atmosphere is created, and my heart was racing not knowing what to expect next. Is someone going to jump out, will the lights turn on and someone will be next to me. The unknown sucks you in and the story starts to come together, and you hear how the stories are linked. Without wanting to give anything away this all concludes in what I felt was an unexpected and surprising twist.
In the end I enjoyed When Darkness Falls, I just felt the first half needed tightening up. The atmosphere and ghostly elements were done really well, and the script is stronger in the second half. When Darkness Falls will definitely make you jump and keep you on your toes. It’s just let down a little by an uneven structure at the start of the play. Maybe with one less story to tell it would have been a little more cohesive and flowed better.
